Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Boston Partners

Boston Partners cut its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,679,680 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 53,184 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 0.21% of Abbott Laboratories worth $417,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7 %

ABT opened at $127.54 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $127.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.58.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lifted 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company’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 $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.