EdgeRock Capital LLC Buys New Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 941 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $106,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 25,085 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 12,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 14,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,712 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $106.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,555,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,552,894. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $112.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the 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 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 sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048 over the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is 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.