Bernard Wealth Management Corp. Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,042 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $19,075,481,000 after purchasing an additional 739,260 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,023,027,000 after buying an additional 765,636 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after acquiring an additional 581,325 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,373,461,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 330,844 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $124.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $131.08 and a 200-day moving average of $120.95. The stock has a market cap of $216.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.