ING Groep NV Sells 99,117 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

ING Groep NV lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 21.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 353,673 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 99,117 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $40,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.5 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $132.18 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $132.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.75.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

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.