Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 163.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,609 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 123,843 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $22,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.45. 5,266,685 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,115,404. The firm has a market cap of $223.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.75. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ABT. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories 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.