Lingohr Asset Management GmbH Buys Shares of 7,935 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Lingohr Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 7,935 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $890,000. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.8% of Lingohr Asset Management GmbH’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 94,343 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $10,671,000 after acquiring an additional 12,768 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 596,578 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $67,479,000 after buying an additional 50,550 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,673 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 763,170 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $86,322,000 after buying an additional 18,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Next Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $127.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $127.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.73. The company has a market cap of $221.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released 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. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. 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.