Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 22.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 39,890 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 7,282 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James restated a "buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.0 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $105.90. 3,610,492 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,320,693. The company's fifty day moving average price is $112.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.51. The company has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

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.

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