Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stake Decreased by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,551,533 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 132,053 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 3.3% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 0.38% of Abbott Laboratories worth $741,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ABT opened at $129.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $224.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $126.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.29. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.