Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 507,996 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,811,351 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 507,996 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.74% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,449,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 16,293 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Concentric Capital Strategies LP grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 160.6% in the 3rd quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP now owns 7,926 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 4,884 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 32.4% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 78,089 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $8,903,000 after buying an additional 19,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 21.2% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,352 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $5,282,000 after buying an additional 8,117 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 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 $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 5.4 %

ABT stock traded down $7.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $124.46. 10,775,333 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,905,172. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The stock's fifty day moving average is $131.18 and its 200-day moving average is $120.84. The company has a market cap of $215.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.