Main Street Research LLC Increases Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Main Street Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,868 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 21,419 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 91,868 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $28,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,508 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $110.31. 3,943,151 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,540,460. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $114.67 and its 200 day moving average is $107.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $191.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.48%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.14.

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.