Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,776 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 65.3% in the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 762 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 31,159 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 18,546 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $798,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,575 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the period. Finally, SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,805,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ABT. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $107.51 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.55 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.