Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 557,608 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $63,573,000 after purchasing an additional 2,754 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.4% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 4,103 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,401 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,150,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $1,044,000. Finally, United Bank lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.19.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of ABT opened at $137.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $238.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $125.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.76. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

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.