Twin Capital Management Inc. Has $5.89 Million Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,029 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 0.6% of Twin Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $2,373,461,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $635,056,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,018,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,020,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948,329 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $135,886,000 after buying an additional 1,196,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,764,061 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,144,818,000 after buying an additional 1,180,040 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $124.46 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $215.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.88.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % 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. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

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.