Independent Advisor Alliance Buys 5,949 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,267 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 5,949 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $137.43 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $125.84 and a 200-day moving average of $118.99. The company has a market cap of $238.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. 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.