Trek Financial LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,761 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,531 shares during the quarter. Trek Financial LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,373,461,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $635,056,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $135,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,018 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,764,061 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,144,818,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,040 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,466.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,006,223 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $113,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,764 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.94.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on ABT
Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories
In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Abbott Laboratories Price Performance
Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $2.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $126.84. 7,355,410 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,003,334. The company has a market capitalization of $219.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. 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's 50-day moving average is $130.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.34.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.
About Abbott Laboratories
(
Free Report)
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.
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