GAMMA Investing LLC Buys Shares of 16,935 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 16,935 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,000. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 0.5% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in 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 period. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded up $0.50 on Tuesday, reaching $107.57. 3,849,265 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,728,185. The stock has a market cap of $186.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $114.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 in the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.