Insider Selling: Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) SVP Sells 562 Shares of Stock

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company's stock, 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 is accessible through the SEC website.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:ABT traded down $2.57 on Tuesday, hitting $137.65. 8,356,261 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,467,091. The company has a market cap of $238.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $124.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.20.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $19,075,481,000 after acquiring an additional 739,260 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,118,903,000 after buying an additional 795,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,023,027,000 after buying an additional 765,636 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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