Alberta Investment Management Corp Grows Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 135.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,635 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,435 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $15,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $130.12 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.42. The company has a market capitalization of $225.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $132.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

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.