Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV Invests $1.86 Million in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,399 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,855,000. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.7% of Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’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 value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABT. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT opened at $132.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $130.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.51.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

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.