Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Flossbach Von Storch AG

Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,821 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 4.6% of Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Flossbach Von Storch AG owned about 0.53% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,007,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,320,866,000 after buying an additional 30,218,560 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $1,893,715,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,278,132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,886,954 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 83.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,925,012 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $582,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235,314 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 99.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,140,866 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $371,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,700 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.14.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT traded down $3.31 on Wednesday, reaching $105.90. 11,999,074 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,677,717. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.48%.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.