Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Amica Retiree Medical Trust

Amica Retiree Medical Trust lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,040 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Amica Retiree Medical Trust’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $126.46 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.