Madison Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 194,717 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $22,024,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 557,608 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $63,573,000 after buying an additional 2,754 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $651,000. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,705 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dillon & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 210,347 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $23,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,364 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $130.29 on Thursday. 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 $225.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $126.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.21. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 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.