Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 209,152 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 2.5% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $23,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 223.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 2,780 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 1,920 shares during the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15.9% in the third quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,851 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,606 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.0% during the third quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,672 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT traded down $1.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $104.82. The company had a trading volume of 4,026,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,533,887. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $112.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $182.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its 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 return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. 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, April 22nd. 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. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

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.