DnB Asset Management AS Purchases 19,226 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 573,570 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,226 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $64,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. United Bank boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 99,116 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $11,301,000 after purchasing an additional 32,021 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 443,049 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $50,512,000 after buying an additional 57,049 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 30.8% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 21,756 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 5,121 shares during the period. Finally, BBR Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 20.3% in the third quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 60,043 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,846,000 after buying an additional 10,114 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 4.0 %

ABT opened at $131.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

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.