Rahlfs Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Rahlfs Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,258 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,047,000. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.0% of Rahlfs Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. United Bank boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Wahed Invest LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 41,666 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,810,977 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,942,709,000 after buying an additional 280,441 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Bank of America upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.94.

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Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of ABT stock traded down $2.29 on Thursday, hitting $124.75. 3,634,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,956,071. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $130.88 and a 200 day moving average of $121.17.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.