Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,910 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,989 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $12,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% during the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE ABT opened at $106.77 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $113.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.44. 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 has a market capitalization of $185.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

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.