Cibc World Market Inc. Trims Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cibc World Market Inc. reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,894 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,985 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $17,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,045 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 354,435 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $40,409,000 after purchasing an additional 22,932 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% during the third quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 24,781 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 66,470 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 6,191 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE ABT opened at $127.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $116.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.00. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $129.85. 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 $221.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

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.