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

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,240 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of ABT traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $105.63. The company had a trading volume of 3,789,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,541,432. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results 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. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.