Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Holdings Trimmed by Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc.

Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,151 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 298 shares during the quarter. Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 23,396 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $1,366,000. one8zero8 LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $1,405,000. Choate Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 206,650 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $23,374,000 after acquiring an additional 28,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,592,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $180,135,000 after acquiring an additional 169,549 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of ABT opened at $127.02 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

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.