Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,930,872 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 236,741 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.57% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,093,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 21,419 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 91,868 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,897,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 634.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 29,758 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,882,000 after acquiring an additional 25,707 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:ABT traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $105.24. 1,121,406 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,552,135. 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 fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $182.61 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.43.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.