Tortoise Investment Management LLC Buys 432 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,321 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $131,000. United Bank raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 27,280 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 813,253 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $96,257,000 after acquiring an additional 15,521 shares during the last quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 19,467 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lumature Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 636.2% during the 1st quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 1,915 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.93% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $112.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $108.75 and a 200-day moving average of $105.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $93.25 and a fifty-two week high of $130.93.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 12th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.46, for a total value of $4,873,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,873,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $669,891,310. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John F. Ginascol sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.32, for a total value of $1,235,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,569,955.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.46, for a total transaction of $4,873,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,873,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,891,310. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

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Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Nutritional Products, Diagnostic Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products.