Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,316 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,009 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $130.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.84. 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 $227.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories 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.