Independent Advisor Alliance Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,267 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,949 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $1.98 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $130.68. 4,029,399 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,542,770. 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 fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The business's fifty day moving average is $126.23 and its 200 day moving average is $119.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69.

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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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.94.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 in the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.