Commerce Bank Has $93.15 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Commerce Bank raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 962,649 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 169,310 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 0.8% of Commerce Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Commerce Bank owned 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $93,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $131,000. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 27,280 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,229,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 813,253 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $96,257,000 after buying an additional 15,521 shares in the last quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the first quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 19,467 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lumature Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 636.2% in the first quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 20th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.46, for a total transaction of $4,873,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,873,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,891,310. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP John F. Ginascol sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.32, for a total transaction of $1,235,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 111,912 shares in the company, valued at $12,569,955.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.46, for a total transaction of $4,873,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,873,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,891,310. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $112.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $196.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.69. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $93.25 and a 12-month high of $130.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.79.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 12th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 46.05%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Nutritional Products, Diagnostic Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products.