Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 2,065 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,910 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,065 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in 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 during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $128.90. The stock had a trading volume of 4,849,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,063,204. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $223.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $130.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.41. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.59.

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.