Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,360,908 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 207,031 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.71% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,346,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 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 $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders 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 Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $1.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $104.38. 2,373,746 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,515,656. The company’s 50-day moving average is $112.00 and its 200-day moving average is $108.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.