SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires 2,882 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 61.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $856,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 20,714 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after buying an additional 2,308 shares during the period. Optas LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 21,722 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,477,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 614,361 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $70,043,000 after buying an additional 7,316 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 14,909 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $137.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $239.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $138.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.89.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released 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 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 was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.71%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group raised 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. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.