Dempze Nancy E Buys 1,865 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Dempze Nancy E grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,677 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,865 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 2.7% of Dempze Nancy E’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Dempze Nancy E’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $59,855,000. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 59,200 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,696,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Kidder Stephen W grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Kidder Stephen W now owns 92,696 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $10,485,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Somerville Kurt F increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 166,957 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,885,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. Finally, Broderick Brian C boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 126,086 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $14,262,000 after purchasing an additional 10,210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $124.46 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $215.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $131.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.82.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

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.