AdvisorShares Investments LLC Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,029 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 7,704 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up approximately 1.4% of AdvisorShares Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. AdvisorShares Investments LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.6 %

ABT traded up $2.04 on Friday, hitting $132.92. The company had a trading volume of 9,801,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,117,117. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $230.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company's fifty day moving average price is $130.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.80. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. 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.