Providence Capital Advisors LLC Has $7.14 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,078 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.4% of Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $19,075,481,000 after buying an additional 739,260 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,746,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,807 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 34,903,198 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,963,974,000 after purchasing an additional 488,764 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,810,977 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,942,709,000 after acquiring an additional 280,441 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $2,373,461,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.67 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.71 and its 200 day moving average is $120.24. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $228.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ABT. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

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.