Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Buys 133 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,020 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value 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. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,282 shares of company stock valued at $3,263,348. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $137.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $238.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $124.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.42.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.19.

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.