Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC Raises Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,539 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 22,231 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 99.9% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 102,454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $11,277,000 after acquiring an additional 6,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 17,302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 5,756 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $135.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $235.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $136.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.56.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The business 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

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.