Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,038 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,428,000. Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $133.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $129.31 and a 200 day moving average of $123.88.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ABT. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.