Wisconsin Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Wisconsin Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 2,000 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $48,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock remained flat at $106.89 during midday trading on Thursday. 3,111,313 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,687,034. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $185.47 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $113.77 and its 200-day moving average is $107.96.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.