Values Added Financial LLC Acquires New Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Values Added Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,006 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.00.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $113.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $197.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.86, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.13 and its 200 day moving average is $106.42. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.48%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.