Capital & Planning LLC Cuts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Capital & Planning LLC reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,023 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Capital & Planning LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $133.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $232.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

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.