IFP Advisors Inc Purchases 2,860 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,860 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 8.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 539,312 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $61,487,000 after buying an additional 40,715 shares during the period. Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.7% during the third quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.6% during the third quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,574 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,908 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 97,031 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $11,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Finally, Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,389 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $136.03 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $136.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $121.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business 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 research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.