Naviter Wealth LLC Has $2.46 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 27.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,633 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,695 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,467,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,222,332,000 after acquiring an additional 701,740 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,588,614 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $9,530,825,000 after buying an additional 7,527,778 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,294,784 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,077,148,000 after buying an additional 1,457,847 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,548,228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,115,836,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.18.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock remained flat at $103.20 during trading on Tuesday. The company had a trading volume of 3,650,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,681,587. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $104.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $179.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

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.