Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,130,410 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,227 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 1.1% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Abbott Laboratories worth $127,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 24,999 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Austin Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $329,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 22,740 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 216,787 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $24,521,000 after purchasing an additional 23,023 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of ABT opened at $132.57 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. 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. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.