Allied Investment Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Allied Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,581 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,838 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 2.0% of Allied Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Allied Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 34,903,198 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,963,974,000 after buying an additional 488,764 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,810,977 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,942,709,000 after acquiring an additional 280,441 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,518,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,102,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,265,762,000 after purchasing an additional 585,915 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE ABT opened at $130.12 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $132.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $119.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABT. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

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.