Taylor Financial Group Inc. Sells 100 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Taylor Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,971 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Taylor Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $464,000. Holistic Financial Partners boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 2,962 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the period. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,522 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $127.54 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $221.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current 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 paid 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 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.