3,883 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Purchased by Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC

Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,883 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $130.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $119.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $132.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

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.