Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,335 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Welch Group LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its holdings 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 valued at $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake 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 valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,828,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $126.46 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.16.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. 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 firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict 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 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 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 transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. 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. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.