Echo45 Advisors LLC Invests $219,000 in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Echo45 Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,986 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,278,132,000 after buying an additional 4,886,954 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after buying an additional 1,298,219 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,320,866,000 after buying an additional 30,218,560 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,229,122,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $1,893,715,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $0.63 on Thursday, hitting $105.27. 7,294,151 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,699,425. The company has a market capitalization of $182.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $114.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.59. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Raymond James raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.31.

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.