Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 38,130 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,006,068 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 38,130 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $113,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,111,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $380,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 56,097 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,396,000 after acquiring an additional 2,809 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 45.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 571 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Omaha raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 193,931 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $22,110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,683 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ABT. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT opened at $124.46 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $215.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $131.18 and its 200-day moving average is $120.88. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

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.