Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Buys 621 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,975 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents 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 valued at $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ABT opened at $137.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $125.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.