Toronto Dominion Bank Boosts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 727,351 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 20,457 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $82,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $635,056,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in 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 valued at $2,494,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,650 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $132.06. 3,615,619 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,135,854. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $130.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABT. Bank of America lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73% 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 three months. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.