Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC Increases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,688 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 15,912 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $106,000. Hyman Charles D boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Hyman Charles D now owns 44,339 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,880,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $474,000. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 111,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $12,252,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’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 $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,787 shares of company stock valued at $4,098,073. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $104.76. 290,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,500,963. The company has a market cap of $182.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.85. 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 (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.