Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 1,435 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 134,773 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,435 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $14,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% during the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.6 %

ABT stock traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.29. The company had a trading volume of 3,394,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,512,275. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $112.26 and a 200 day moving average of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $184.91 billion, a PE ratio of 32.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a 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 report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’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 $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.