Private Advisor Group LLC Has $28.29 Million Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 56.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 250,083 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 90,662 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $28,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ABT. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.4 %

ABT traded up $1.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.04. 7,117,852 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,596,108. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $135.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $120.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.83. The company has a market cap of $234.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.75.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.