Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Boosts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 63.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,637 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,718 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $127.64 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $127.98 and a 200-day moving average of $119.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.