Insider Selling: Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) EVP Sells 949 Shares of Stock

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

ABT stock opened at $137.68 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $238.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 5,454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 58,605 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,611,000 after buying an additional 2,947 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 15,190 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,919,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $83,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% 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.