Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Purchases 5,707 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,867 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,707 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $21,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,111,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,975 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 187.5% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 91,865 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $10,474,000 after purchasing an additional 59,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $271,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

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Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.46. The company had a trading volume of 6,726,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,480,421. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $128.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $217.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.94.

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.