Banque de Luxembourg S.A. Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Banque de Luxembourg S.A. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bearing Point Capital LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $421,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 348,332 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $39,419,000 after acquiring an additional 11,795 shares during the period. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,466,000. BNP Paribas increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 23,423 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,865,656 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,451,032,000 after purchasing an additional 781,264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.81 on Wednesday, hitting $133.87. The stock had a trading volume of 4,924,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,129,160. The company's 50 day moving average price is $130.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.15. The stock has a market cap of $232.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, 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 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.