Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Weatherly Asset Management L. P.

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,561 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 746 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,916,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,045 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 43,215 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 16,364 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 3,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 186,718 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $20,552,000 after purchasing an additional 15,598 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.5 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $107.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,849,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,728,185. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $114.08 and its 200-day moving average is $107.90. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.