Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,794,632 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,030,571 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.62% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,220,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. United Bank increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $4,937,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 693,148 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $79,026,000 after purchasing an additional 120,967 shares in the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 2,302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 16,293 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE ABT opened at $130.81 on Monday. 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 $226.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.39.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 paid 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 1.80%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.