Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,770,917 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 118,558 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.28% of Abbott Laboratories worth $539,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 7,896,939 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $893,223,000 after acquiring an additional 787,251 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,262,331 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $142,782,000 after acquiring an additional 49,298 shares in the last quarter. Dempze Nancy E lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 41,677 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $59,855,000. Finally, Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 59,200 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,696,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $2.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $124.94. The company had a trading volume of 3,634,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,955,669. The company has a market capitalization of $216.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.17.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.