Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Position Trimmed by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,231 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 147 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 132.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded up $2.02 on Friday, reaching $107.29. 10,525,210 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,763,002. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $114.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.55 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.31.

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.