Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Diversified Portfolios Inc.

Diversified Portfolios Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,766 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the quarter. Diversified Portfolios Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 75.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 470,094 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $53,327,000 after buying an additional 201,556 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 8,699 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $984,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $733,000. Certuity LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 6,221 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 7,695 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $131.48 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $228.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.60. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $132.50.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

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.