Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 50.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,580 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,467,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,222,332,000 after buying an additional 701,740 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,764,000. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $28,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,932,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.7 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $1.71 during trading on Monday, reaching $103.74. 7,877,798 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,829,326. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.42. The company has a market capitalization of $180.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.70.

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.