Planned Solutions Inc. Buys New Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,506 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFG Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 31,828 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,503,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 5,629 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. now owns 3,560 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,929 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,046,000 after purchasing an additional 5,835 shares during the period. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 15,160 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.00.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $113.47 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $196.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.14 and a 200-day moving average of $106.37.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 67.48%.

Insider Transactions 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 value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.