AtonRa Partners Reduces Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

AtonRa Partners lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,345 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. AtonRa Partners’ holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 25,085 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,761,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 12,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 14,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,712 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $739,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $106.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,006,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,574,681. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $113.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.34. The company has a market capitalization of $184.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS 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 20.32%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.