KFA Private Wealth Group LLC Acquires 523 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

KFA Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,126 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 147.0% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 31,159 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,018,000 after buying an additional 18,546 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $798,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the third quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC now owns 189,130 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,317,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 51,450 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,549 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $107.51. 3,575,246 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,660,976. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $186.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $113.64 and its 200 day moving average is $108.03.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.