Capital World Investors Acquires 1,410 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,338,641 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the period. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $151,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.0 %

ABT opened at $131.00 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve 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’s 50-day moving average price is $130.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.96. The stock has a market cap of $227.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

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.