GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 666 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,532 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Welch Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,664 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $2,828,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $22,091,000 after buying an additional 31,720 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of ABT opened at $128.20 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $132.50. The stock has a market cap of $222.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $117.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.