Monument Capital Management Invests $280,000 in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,542 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,219 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,229,122,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,153,877 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,164,611,000 after purchasing an additional 32,157 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,007,098,000 after purchasing an additional 135,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,949,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $576,228,000 after purchasing an additional 20,851 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 over the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Raymond James upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE ABT opened at $107.07 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $114.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.90. The firm has a market cap of $185.79 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.