Bender Robert & Associates Decreases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bender Robert & Associates cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,134 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 182 shares during the quarter. Bender Robert & Associates’ holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 235,906 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $25,966,000 after purchasing an additional 17,809 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 58,775 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,469,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,716 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,702,000 after buying an additional 2,889 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Wealth Management now owns 27,110 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,984,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,007,098,000 after acquiring an additional 135,821 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’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 $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.6 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $105.27. The stock had a trading volume of 7,295,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,699,424. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.59. The company has a market capitalization of $182.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 2.63 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 67.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.31.

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.