Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Acquires 5,707 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 186,867 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,707 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $21,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. United Bank grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,975 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 187.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 91,865 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $10,474,000 after acquiring an additional 59,915 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $271,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $126.72 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $128.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.