Ethos Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,833 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% during the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’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 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 SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,787 shares of company stock worth $4,098,073. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. 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. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $104.67. 5,807,391 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,564,612. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.82. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $182.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76.

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, 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 company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

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.