Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 26.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,475 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 729 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. LMG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $320,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $299,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $125.46 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $129.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $217.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

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. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.