Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 26,111 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 47.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,924 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 26,111 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four 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 data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.94.

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Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $1.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.46. The stock had a trading volume of 6,726,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,475,835. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month 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's 50-day moving average price is $129.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.12.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. 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. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.