Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 50.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,016 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 21,597 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.0% of Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $28,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Raymond James upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.00.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.0 %

ABT traded up $0.04 on Thursday, hitting $113.52. The company had a trading volume of 698,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,670,940. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $196.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.37.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.48%.

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.