Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Fiduciary Group LLC

Fiduciary Group LLC trimmed its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,796 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 596,578 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $67,479,000 after purchasing an additional 50,550 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,673 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 763,170 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $86,322,000 after purchasing an additional 18,272 shares in the last quarter. Next Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L.K. Benson & Company P.C. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $326,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $127.64 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.