EdgeRock Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 941 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $106,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 25,085 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 12,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,352,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 14,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,712 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.17. 6,555,967 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,552,894. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $112.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.70 billion, a PE ratio of 33.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

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.