Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Holdings Cut by Hemington Wealth Management

Hemington Wealth Management decreased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 14.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,971 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 330 shares during the quarter. Hemington Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $104.17. 5,025,283 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,659,196. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.18.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.