Willner & Heller LLC Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Willner & Heller LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,023 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $663,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $16,764,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $28,344,000 after buying an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,111,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.64.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $103.68 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $105.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.15. The stock has a market cap of $180.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.