Twin Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,716 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,889 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $28,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 132.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.96 during trading on Thursday, hitting $104.94. 2,756,635 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,636,982. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $114.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.59.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 67.48%.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were 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 directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were 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 directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.31.

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.