Heritage Trust Co Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Heritage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 61,741 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $6,984,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of 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. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $126.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,635,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,025,466. The stock has a market cap of $218.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $130.67 and a 200-day moving average of $121.51.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.