WealthTrak Capital Management LLC Invests $28,000 in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 250 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $2,373,461,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $635,056,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $135,886,000 after buying an additional 1,196,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,764,061 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,144,818,000 after buying an additional 1,180,040 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $130.81 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $130.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. 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 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 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 $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.