Sava Infond d.o.o. Buys Shares of 33,830 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 33,830 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,827,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,339,667 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $835,474,000 after acquiring an additional 345,700 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 1,327,626 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $150,168,000 after buying an additional 61,577 shares during the last quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. now owns 79,368 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Finally, Core Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,208 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $126.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $129.35 and its 200 day moving average is $120.16. The company has a market capitalization of $219.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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, StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

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.