Borer Denton & Associates Inc. Purchases 1,115 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Borer Denton & Associates Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,368 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 3.1% of Borer Denton & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Borer Denton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Core Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,208 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 86.6% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 5,393 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 27,649 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,127,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 52,335 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,920,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ipsen Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $500,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.4 %

ABT opened at $125.46 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued 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 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.