Puzo Michael J Sells 4,148 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Puzo Michael J cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,569 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 4,148 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 3.1% of Puzo Michael J's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Puzo Michael J's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $11,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. LMG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $122.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,522,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,926,550. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $212.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50 day moving average is $130.93 and its 200-day moving average is $121.04.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.94.

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.