Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 133,355 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up approximately 1.3% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $15,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. LMG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $137.99 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $239.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $123.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.89. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $138.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

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.