Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stake Reduced by FineMark National Bank & Trust

FineMark National Bank & Trust decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,809 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 741 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,475 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 66.4% in the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $242,000. Hirtle Callaghan & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $289,000. Finally, Dillon & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 213,021 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $24,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $127.31 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $220.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $128.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.04.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

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.