Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Bruce & Co. Inc.

Bruce & Co. Inc. reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,300 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 5.4% of Bruce & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Bruce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $16,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 186,867 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $21,136,000 after buying an additional 5,707 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 29,570 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $3,345,000 after acquiring an additional 7,664 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 385,643 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $43,619,000 after acquiring an additional 3,130 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 115,637 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $13,080,000 after purchasing an additional 44,718 shares during the period. Finally, Lingohr Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $890,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.4 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,726,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,480,421. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $128.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.04. 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 has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $217.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued 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 payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

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.