Avalon Trust Co Increases Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Avalon Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,023 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 23.9% in the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,114 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.4% during the third quarter. Northstar Asset Management LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 45,393 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,396,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,315 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $10,297,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $105.90. 3,610,492 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,320,693. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. 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 stock has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.51.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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 fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 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 value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 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 value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.