18,955 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Bought by Generali Investments Management Co LLC

Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 18,955 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,144,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABT. UBS Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.94.

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Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $126.18. 8,853,820 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,482,576. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $218.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $128.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.90. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.