Ethic Inc. Boosts Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 188,276 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 20,879 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $21,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 80,716 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $9,624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 308,627 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $34,909,000 after acquiring an additional 6,772 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 5,065 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 12,418,938 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,404,706,000 after acquiring an additional 921,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 847 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of ABT traded down $0.50 on Friday, reaching $133.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,976,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,119,577. 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 twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.80 and a 200-day moving average of $123.56.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.