Syverson Strege & Co Grows Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Syverson Strege & Co raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,310 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 0.4% of Syverson Strege & Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Syverson Strege & Co’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. United Bank increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,111,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 24,902 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,839,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 12,915 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 12,344 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 12.7% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,844 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $127.31 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $220.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $128.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.04.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

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.