Howard Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,253 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,348 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,253 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE ABT opened at $128.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $223.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $103.55 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $131.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.17.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 29.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.47.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.