Partners in Financial Planning Takes $259,000 Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,288 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 198,839 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $22,491,000 after buying an additional 38,112 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. United Bank now owns 28,813 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $74,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 254,544 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $28,792,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,079,490 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $122,101,000 after purchasing an additional 80,661 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $130.81 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

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.