Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,281,146 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 72,319 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up approximately 1.0% of Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC owned about 0.07% of Abbott Laboratories worth $144,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,873 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 3,646 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,103 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 73,308 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $8,292,000 after purchasing an additional 13,517 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.72 during trading on Monday, reaching $135.52. The stock had a trading volume of 8,012,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,124,974. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business's 50-day moving average price is $129.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.17. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.