Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Position Cut by GLOBALT Investments LLC GA

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 62,657 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,157 shares during the quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 52,371 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 13,788 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $464,000. Finally, Tower Bridge Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the third quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 45,017 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $127.02 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $127.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.47.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

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.