2,038 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Acquired by Ground Swell Capital LLC

Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,038 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $19,075,481,000 after purchasing an additional 739,260 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after buying an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $6,118,903,000 after buying an additional 795,073 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,023,027,000 after acquiring an additional 765,636 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after acquiring an additional 581,325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $133.50 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $129.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.46. The company has a market capitalization of $232.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Abbott Laboratories 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.

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