Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Grows Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 264,500 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $29,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $124.46 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $215.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

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.