Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases New Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 112,004 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $12,669,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $2,828,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $127.54 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $127.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.58. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. 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 (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

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.