Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 260,061 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,809,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 260,061 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.2% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.10% of Abbott Laboratories worth $199,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after buying an additional 1,298,219 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,229,122,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,153,877 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,164,611,000 after purchasing an additional 32,157 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,007,098,000 after purchasing an additional 135,821 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,949,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $576,228,000 after purchasing an additional 20,851 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of ABT opened at $107.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $186.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $113.64 and a 200 day moving average of $108.03.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.