Planned Solutions Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,506 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,506 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.8 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $113.47 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.37. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $196.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.