J. Stern & Co. LLP Boosts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 315,433 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 16,300 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 3.4% of J. Stern & Co. LLP's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. J. Stern & Co. LLP's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $35,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. Raymond James upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT traded down $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $128.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,849,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,073,198. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $130.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.46. The firm has a market cap of $223.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS 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. 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 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

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.