CFO4Life Group LLC Buys 193 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

CFO4Life Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,075 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ABT opened at $129.71 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.29. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $224.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, 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 value of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’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 transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.