Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Buys 327 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,143 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% in the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:ABT traded down $1.33 on Tuesday, reaching $105.94. 5,073,568 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,625,535. The company has a market capitalization of $183.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. 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 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.44.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 report on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.