Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by WoodTrust Financial Corp

WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,972 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,282 shares of company stock valued at $3,263,348 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $137.65 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $124.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

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.