Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 20,983,649 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,461,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.21% of Abbott Laboratories at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. LMG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $126.46 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABT. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’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 value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories 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.