Addison Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,470 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $134.81 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.20 and its 200-day moving average is $117.11. 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 $136.59. The firm has a market cap of $233.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

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.