Benjamin Edwards Inc. Acquires 11,795 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 348,332 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 11,795 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $39,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the fourth 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 grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% in 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 period. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were 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 owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was 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 worth $12,745,859. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $133.25. The company had a trading volume of 6,285,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,135,683. 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 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.15. The stock has a market cap of $231.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 during 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%. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

About Abbott Laboratories

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.