Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Trust Point Inc.

Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,168 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,876 shares during the quarter. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,696 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 5,094 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 989 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 47,133 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,331,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $135,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,515 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other 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 value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.6 %

ABT opened at $128.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $116.37 and its 200-day moving average is $114.32. 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 $129.85.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for 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%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

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.