Capital Investment Counsel Inc Purchases Shares of 2,106 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $107.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $186.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $113.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.34. 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 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given 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 yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.