Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by CoreCap Advisors LLC

CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,012 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crestline Management LP grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 18,595 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,103,000 after buying an additional 5,071 shares during the period. Capital Advantage Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $575,000. BOKF NA increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 143,485 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $16,115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,632 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 385,920 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $43,651,000 after purchasing an additional 8,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $6,085,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $133.87 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.23. The company has a market capitalization of $232.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. 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 (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

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.

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