Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL Has $6.44 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,906 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,111 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.9% of Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 79,033 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,939,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,332,000. Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 24,876 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after acquiring an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,349 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. UBS Group increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.19.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $137.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.76. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.