Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Kinloch Capital LLC

Kinloch Capital LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,308 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the period. Kinloch Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $19,075,481,000 after purchasing an additional 739,260 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,118,903,000 after purchasing an additional 795,073 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after purchasing an additional 765,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after purchasing an additional 581,325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABT. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $135.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.