Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Position Increased by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,376 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,603 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,744,000 after buying an additional 3,479 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,791,000 after buying an additional 5,881 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $2,828,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 5.4 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $124.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $215.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.84. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.