Plancorp LLC Acquires 2,432 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Plancorp LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,624 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,432 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.5 %

ABT stock opened at $126.18 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.86. 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 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $218.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted 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 return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’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. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.