Eagle Global Advisors LLC Has $1.55 Million Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Eagle Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 268.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,727 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $945,453,000 after purchasing an additional 6,628,310 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $635,056,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after buying an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,494,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060,650 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 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 value of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $133.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $232.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $130.01 and its 200-day moving average is $123.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.59.

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.

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