Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is Cornerstone Capital Inc.'s 8th Largest Position

Cornerstone Capital Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 229,449 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 21,404 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 2.7% of Cornerstone Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Cornerstone Capital Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $25,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. LMG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $129.93. 3,090,532 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,181,675. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $130.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.20. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.59.

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.