LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,614,600 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 164,989 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.09% of Abbott Laboratories worth $182,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABT. UBS Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.94.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ABT
Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.4 %
Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $1.75 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.46. 6,726,845 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,475,835. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $128.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.04. The firm has a market cap of $217.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.
Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories
In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.
About Abbott Laboratories
(
Free Report)
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.
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