Allen Capital Group LLC Boosts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,969 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $28,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 132.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.14.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE ABT opened at $109.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $114.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.48%.

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.