Whittier Trust Co. Buys 3,130 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 385,643 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,130 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $43,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 63.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 115,637 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $13,080,000 after buying an additional 44,718 shares during the period. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $890,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 94,343 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $10,671,000 after acquiring an additional 12,768 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 596,578 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $67,479,000 after purchasing an additional 50,550 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,673 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $127.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $221.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $127.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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