Opes Wealth Management LLC Sells 566 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Opes Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,046 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 566 shares during the quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $105.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,294,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,699,425. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $114.42 and its 200-day moving average is $107.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $182.66 billion, a PE ratio of 32.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 67.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Raymond James upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.31.

Abbott Laboratories 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.