4,418 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Purchased by Ipsen Advisor Group LLC

Ipsen Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,418 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.4 %

ABT opened at $125.46 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $217.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $129.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.12.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % 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 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.