Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $11.16 Million Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 101,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $11,164,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% during the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $105.90. 3,610,492 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,320,693. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $112.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.51. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.