MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC Invests $247,000 in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,240 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% during the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 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 $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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $105.63. 3,789,472 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,541,432. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $112.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.71.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.