Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Buys 1,082 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,047 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $124.46 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.88. 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 (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS 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. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

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.