Simplify Asset Management Inc. Has $2.50 Million Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 56.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,079 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 7,996 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $126.18 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $128.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.90. The company has a market capitalization of $218.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

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.