Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Frontier Asset Management LLC

Frontier Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,587 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 351 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.2% of Frontier Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Frontier Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 557,608 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $63,573,000 after purchasing an additional 2,754 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.4% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 4,103 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,401 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,150,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $1,044,000. Finally, United Bank raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $137.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $238.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $125.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.76.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.19.

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.