5,614,498 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,614,498 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $635,056,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 557,608 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $63,573,000 after purchasing an additional 2,754 shares during the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $302,000. Balentine LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 48.6% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 8,296 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $137.68 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.42. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $238.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,282 shares of company stock worth $3,263,348. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.