Heritage Wealth Management LLC Makes New $750,000 Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Heritage Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,816 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $750,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $105.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 899,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,551,149. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $113.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories 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.