Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 98,783 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 13,501 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 3.0% of Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $11,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Welch Group LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,791,000 after buying an additional 5,881 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $2,828,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $130.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $130.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $226.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

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 firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.