DMKC Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

DMKC Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,365 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,738,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $136.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $235.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $121.65 and its 200-day moving average is $117.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $136.59.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm 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 business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ABT. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.