First Financial Bankshares Inc lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 109,401 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,179 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $12,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Welch Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,828,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.94.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.5 %
ABT stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $126.18. The company had a trading volume of 8,853,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,482,576. The business has a 50-day moving average of $128.51 and a 200-day moving average of $119.94. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $218.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 30.85%.
About Abbott Laboratories
(
Free Report)
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.
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