Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 732,945 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,705 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $82,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 28,289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,200,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 32,083 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 5,576 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 79,033 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,939,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,332,000. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 24,876 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $137.23 on Monday. 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 has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $125.35 and a 200 day moving average of $118.82.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.19.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.