Redmond Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 6,104 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $690,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Welch Group LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,744,000 after buying an additional 3,479 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,791,000 after buying an additional 5,881 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,828,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’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 owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $135.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $120.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.88. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $135.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Abbott Laboratories 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.