Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Holdings Boosted by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,280 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% during the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT opened at $105.94 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $113.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.