Kennedy Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,757 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 10,306 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $1.88 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $126.08. 8,635,648 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,031,179. The stock has a market cap of $218.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $130.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month 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 the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped 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. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.94.

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.