Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Gold Investment Management Ltd.

Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,256 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 52,371 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,971,000 after buying an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 13,788 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $464,000. Finally, Tower Bridge Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 45,017 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $127.02 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $127.16 and its 200-day moving average is $119.47.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ABT. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

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.