Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 62,533 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,117,790 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 62,533 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $126,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Welch Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $133,691,000 after buying an additional 57,499 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $18,791,000 after buying an additional 5,881 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $2,828,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

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Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $2.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $124.75. 3,634,840 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,956,071. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.17. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. 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 company has a market cap of $216.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by 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.