Banque Transatlantique SA Buys New Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 38,104 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $4,309,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Three Seasons Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $1,428,000. Welch Group LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bath Savings Trust Co grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.6 %

ABT stock opened at $132.92 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $230.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.96. 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 (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.61%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

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.