Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Meitav Investment House Ltd.

Meitav Investment House Ltd. decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 75.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,500 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 7,500 shares during the quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Wealth Alliance increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 13,119 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,484,000 after buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $588,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 135,060 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $15,277,000 after buying an additional 24,121 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $135.04. 7,117,852 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,596,108. The firm has a market cap of $234.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.75. 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 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $135.41. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $120.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.06.

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.