MML Investors Services LLC Purchases 14,197 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 525,283 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 14,197 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $59,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 459,000 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $51,917,000 after acquiring an additional 6,752 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 67,666 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 30,316 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $3,429,000 after purchasing an additional 5,009 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $36,288,000. Finally, Beck Mack & Oliver LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 810,456 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $91,671,000 after buying an additional 10,098 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm'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 $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % 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 worth $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded down $1.90 on Wednesday, hitting $129.83. 8,776,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,050,231. The firm's 50 day moving average is $130.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.15. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

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.