Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. Increases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,316 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,009 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $380,000. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $302,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 54,237 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 32.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 332,189 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,873,000 after buying an additional 81,669 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 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 three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $131.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $227.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $130.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

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.