Polen Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Polen Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,688,363 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,249,247 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 3.9% of Polen Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,435,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $127.02 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $127.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.