Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Purchases 14,200 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 685,800 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,200 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $77,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 237,304 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Apriem Advisors increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Apriem Advisors now owns 3,303 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Nwam LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 23,920 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323 shares during the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 11,073 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $135.94 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $136.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

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.