Procyon Advisors LLC Purchases 976 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,522 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $276,000. IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 31,828 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 5,629 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. now owns 3,560 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,929 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,046,000 after buying an additional 5,835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $113.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 453,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,664,881. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $115.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.37. The stock has a market cap of $197.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.75.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.