Guardian Investment Management Sells 200 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Guardian Investment Management trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,750 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.1% of Guardian Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $131,000. United Bank grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 27,280 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,229,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 813,253 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $96,257,000 after buying an additional 15,521 shares in the last quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the first quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 19,467 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,304,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lumature Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 636.2% during the first quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 1,915 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $104.68. The company had a trading volume of 4,504,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,658,907. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.59. The company has a market capitalization of $181.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.