Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,855 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 936 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $136.03 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $121.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.30. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $136.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $235.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

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.