Ieq Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 135,060 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 24,121 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $15,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in 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. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT traded up $1.95 on Friday, hitting $135.12. 4,098,697 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,499,726. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $135.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $120.32 and a 200-day moving average of $116.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.06.

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.