AT Bancorp Acquires 4,015 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

AT Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,569 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 4,015 shares during the period. AT Bancorp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,827,000. GLG LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. GLG LLC now owns 35,093 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,348,000 after buying an additional 2,231 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 16,800 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 12,553 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $307,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.02% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) traded up 0.051% during trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.175. 3,482,628 shares of the company traded hands. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.873 and a beta of 1.07. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $37.38 and a 12-month high of $51.13.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 4.96% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company’s revenue was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post $2.49 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 14th will be issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 149.30%.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Barclays PLC reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Saturday, July 22nd. BidaskClub cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.93.

In other news, insider Brian J. Blaser sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 143,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,157,700. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Hubert L. Allen sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.79, for a total transaction of $233,634.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 105,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,357,278.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 216,702 shares of company stock worth $10,051,413. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of a range of healthcare products. The Company operates through four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products and Vascular Products. Its Established Pharmaceutical Products include a range of branded generic pharmaceuticals manufactured around the world and marketed and sold outside the United States.