Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Has $4.52 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,032 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 769 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 3.4% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI increased 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock remained flat at $106.89 during trading on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 3,111,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,687,034. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $113.77 and its 200-day moving average is $107.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 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 (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.