MML Investors Services LLC Buys 14,197 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

by · The Cerbat Gem

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 525,283 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,197 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $59,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.0 %

ABT opened at $131.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $227.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $130.62 and a 200-day moving average of $121.89. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 $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 dividend yield of 1.80%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday. Finally, Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Get Our Latest Report on ABT

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.

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