Jennison Associates LLC Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 400,107 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,309 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $44,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,413 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% in the third quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,221 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 65.3% in the third quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 762 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 83.3% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,506 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,858,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nikulski Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% in the third quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 11,168 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $107.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $114.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $186.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 over the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

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.