Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC

Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,093 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 134 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 25,085 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 12,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,352,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 14,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,712 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. Barclays reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $105.90. 3,610,492 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,320,693. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $112.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The company 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 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value 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 $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.