Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $20.55 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,718 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,598 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $20,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ABT shares. Raymond James raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $107.07. The stock had a trading volume of 4,940,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,752,482. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $114.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.90. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.79 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 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 (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given 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 yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

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.