PFG Advisors Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

PFG Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,959 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 211 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 557,608 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $63,573,000 after buying an additional 2,754 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted 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 buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $651,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 51,094 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,825,000 after buying an additional 3,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 9,698 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $129.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $224.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $126.90 and its 200 day moving average is $119.29. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Research analysts predict 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. Investors 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 yield of 1.82%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories 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.