Xponance Inc. Buys 26,192 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 268,652 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,192 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $30,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 374.9% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 112,369 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $12,710,000 after acquiring an additional 88,707 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $12,669,000. Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 18,889 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 25,420 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 117,416 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $13,281,000 after buying an additional 2,055 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $127.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $221.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.58. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

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.