Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 289,388 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $32,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $135.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $120.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.88. The stock has a market cap of $234.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $135.41.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

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.