MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. Makes New $2.36 Million Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 20,859 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,359,000. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.5% of MOKAN Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Welch Group LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $18,791,000 after buying an additional 5,881 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 5,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $2,828,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of ABT traded up $2.00 on Wednesday, hitting $132.18. 3,806,798 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,628,502. The stock's 50 day moving average is $119.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.53. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $132.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.75. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.06.

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.