Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,731 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% during the 4th 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 period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the business’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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’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 $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,238,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,504,108. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $182.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.