Eric Shroff Sells 562 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $137.65 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $124.05 and its 200-day moving average is $118.28. The company has a market capitalization of $238.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 88.0% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 107,000 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $12,199,000 after acquiring an additional 50,100 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the third quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 14,952 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Cohen Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 16.9% in the third quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,629 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 1,830 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,212,494 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $366,256,000 after acquiring an additional 408,586 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.19.

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.