Poplar Forest Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,642 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 12,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Avion Wealth raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Renaissance Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 14,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,712 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 15,160 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $106.89. The company had a trading volume of 5,050,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,719,627. 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 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $185.47 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $113.90 and a 200-day moving average of $107.97.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABT. Barclays cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.