Welch Group LLC Has $7.74 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Welch Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Bath Savings Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $18,791,000 after acquiring an additional 5,881 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,664 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,828,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $22,091,000 after buying an additional 31,720 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 107,308 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $12,234,000 after acquiring an additional 25,052 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $129.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,244,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,043,318. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $132.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $117.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.93. The stock has a market cap of $223.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by 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.