Ames National Corp Makes New $263,000 Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ames National Corp purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,325 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $945,453,000 after acquiring an additional 6,628,310 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $635,056,000. Capital International Investors increased 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 worth $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,494,851,000 after buying an additional 2,060,650 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $135.18 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, 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 current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.59.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.