Philadelphia Trust Co. Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Philadelphia Trust Co. reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 289,753 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 9,497 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 2.4% of Philadelphia Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Philadelphia Trust Co.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $32,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $380,000. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $302,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 54,237 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $6,184,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 32.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 332,189 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $37,873,000 after buying an additional 81,669 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.94.

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Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $126.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,635,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,031,179. The stock has a market cap of $218.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $130.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.