McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC Sells 896 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,171 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 896 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.3% of McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Insight Inv LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Johnson Midwest Financial LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 28.7% during the third quarter. Johnson Midwest Financial LLC now owns 560 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 72.93% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.0 %

ABT stock traded down $2.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.01. 10,848,298 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,170,376. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $93.25 and a fifty-two week high of $124.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $106.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $168.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.68.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 26.09%. The firm had revenue of $10.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total transaction of $26,842.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,222,103.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Randel William Woodgrift sold 1,032 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total value of $103,922.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,256,842.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total transaction of $26,842.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,222,103.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,971 shares of company stock valued at $199,140 in the last 90 days. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Mizuho raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. StockNews.com started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $109.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.67.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

(Get Rating)

Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following business segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products.