Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stake Cut by Private Wealth Partners LLC

Private Wealth Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 147.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 31,159 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,018,000 after buying an additional 18,546 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.6% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the third quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC now owns 189,130 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,317,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the third quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 51,450 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% in the third quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,549 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $925,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $107.53. 3,575,566 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,219,304. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $113.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is 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.