World Equity Group Inc. Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

World Equity Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,376 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

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

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $135.04 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.93. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $135.41. 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 company has a market cap of $234.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.