World Investment Advisors Grows Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,832 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 9,098 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $124.05. 4,516,890 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,917,768. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $131.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.95. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $215.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80.

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Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 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 $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.94.

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.