Sandy Spring Bank Lowers Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sandy Spring Bank lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,328 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 3,675 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $12,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $127.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,283,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,481,777. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $128.51 and a 200 day moving average of $119.94. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

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.