Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Position Cut by Nvest Financial LLC

Nvest Financial LLC lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,442 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Nvest Financial LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.18.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT remained flat at $103.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday. 3,650,242 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,681,587. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share 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 20.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.