Leisure Capital Management Sells 2,405 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Leisure Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,854 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,405 shares during the period. Leisure Capital Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 25,085 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 12,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 14,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,712 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.67 on Friday, hitting $107.53. 3,575,566 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,219,304. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target 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 raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% 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.