Generali Investments Management Co LLC Invests $2.14 Million in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,955 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,144,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 90,252 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $10,180,000 after buying an additional 9,593 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 25,948 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $626,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $286,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.1 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $126.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $127.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.67.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.