Saxon Interests Inc. Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Saxon Interests Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,786 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

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

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ABT traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $113.64. The company had a trading volume of 5,278,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,747,185. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.42. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $197.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.75.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current 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 $0.55 dividend. 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 presently 67.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.00.

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.