Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 33.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,000 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $127.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $220.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $127.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.43. 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.