Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Position Lifted by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 167,778 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,629 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $18,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the third quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 21,419 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 91,868 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 634.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 29,758 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,882,000 after purchasing an additional 25,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $105.63. 3,789,472 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,541,432. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.78. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.91, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Barclays dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upped 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. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories 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.