Arvest Bank Trust Division Invests $203,000 in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Free Report) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,795 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $19,075,481,000 after acquiring an additional 739,260 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after purchasing an additional 765,636 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,985,233,000 after buying an additional 581,325 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $2,373,461,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,940,321 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,463,680,000 after buying an additional 330,844 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $227.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $130.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued 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 1.80%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABT. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Free Report).