L.K. Benson & Company P.C. Acquires New Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

L.K. Benson & Company P.C. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,885 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $2,144,000. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 90,252 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $10,180,000 after buying an additional 9,593 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 25,948 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $626,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $126.18. 8,853,820 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,482,576. The company has a market capitalization of $218.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.94. 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 has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.94.

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.