Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stake Raised by Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,546 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,751 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $113.64. 5,278,016 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,747,185. The company has a market capitalization of $197.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.42.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 67.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.00.

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.