Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Sheets Smith Wealth Management

Sheets Smith Wealth Management lessened its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,971 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 661 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,022,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,219 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,229,122,000 after acquiring an additional 343,559 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,153,877 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,164,611,000 after acquiring an additional 32,157 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,930,872 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,093,091,000 after purchasing an additional 236,741 shares during the period. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,007,098,000 after buying an additional 135,821 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $105.64 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.77 billion, a PE ratio of 32.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $112.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.78.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.