Meritage Portfolio Management Purchases 910 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,916 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,219 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,229,122,000 after acquiring an additional 343,559 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,153,877 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,164,611,000 after acquiring an additional 32,157 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,007,098,000 after purchasing an additional 135,821 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,949,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $576,228,000 after purchasing an additional 20,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.84 on Friday, reaching $107.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,863,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,638,109. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $186.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.96.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ABT. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.