Simplify Asset Management Inc. Purchases 7,996 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 56.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,079 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,996 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT opened at $126.18 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.90. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $218.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.