Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 209,152 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 2.5% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $23,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,360,908 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,346,959,000 after buying an additional 207,031 shares in the last quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 3,403 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,770 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 64,490 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,098,000 after buying an additional 18,779 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other 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 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 approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE ABT traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $104.82. 4,026,152 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,533,887. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $182.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $112.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.85. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued 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 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

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.