Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Geneva Partners LLC

Geneva Partners LLC lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,135 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,552 shares during the quarter. Geneva Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 21,419 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 91,868 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $28,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABT. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TheStreet upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT traded up $2.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $107.29. The stock had a trading volume of 10,525,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,763,002. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.