Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 12,673 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 171,807 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 12,673 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $19,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Welch Group LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,664 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 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 transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $130.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $126.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.21. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.