Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Signet Financial Management LLC

Signet Financial Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 44.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,601 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,930 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,278,132,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886,954 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in 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. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,320,866,000 after purchasing an additional 30,218,560 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $2,229,122,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,893,715,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.14.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $109.20 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $189.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 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.