Custom Index Systems LLC Buys Shares of 1,845 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Custom Index Systems LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,845 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $886,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 54,097 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,119,000 after purchasing an additional 6,022 shares during the period. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,855 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares in the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,767 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $127.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.17. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $129.85. The company has a market cap of $221.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.