Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,777 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $526,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.6 %

ABT traded up $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $107.53. The company had a trading volume of 3,575,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,219,304. The company has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $113.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.