Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Sfmg LLC

Sfmg LLC decreased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,663 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 266 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 12,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. now owns 3,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,029 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $109.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,283,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,461,397. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $114.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $189.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued 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 2.01%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 67.48%.

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.