Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stake Boosted by Pacific Wealth Management

Pacific Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,110 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.7% of Pacific Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Pacific Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.71 during trading on Thursday, hitting $105.19. 2,200,421 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,630,331. The company has a market capitalization of $182.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.59. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.31.

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.