GAMMA Investing LLC Buys Shares of 16,935 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 16,935 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,000. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 0.5% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,543 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,413 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 16,809 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,891 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 955,567 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $92,825,000 after purchasing an additional 162,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $107.57. The stock had a trading volume of 3,849,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,728,185. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. 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 has a market cap of $186.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $114.08 and its 200-day moving average is $107.90.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 0.47% of the stock is owned by 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.