Disciplined Equity Management Inc. Takes $55,000 Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Disciplined Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 500 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. GHE LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 12,547 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 37,904 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 71,314 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,849,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $314,000. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $366,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.70 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.89. The stock had a trading volume of 5,050,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,719,627. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 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 stock has a market capitalization of $185.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.97.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly 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. The company 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 for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. 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.