Cibc World Markets Corp Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 273,928 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,826 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $30,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,256 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 2,213 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 40,814 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,617,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $703,000. Finally, Glenview Trust co lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 93,316 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $10,555,000 after buying an additional 3,821 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of ABT opened at $127.02 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.47. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Abbott Laboratories 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.