Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Marco Investment Management LLC

Marco Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 68,605 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 533 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 125.2% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 7,816 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $860,000 after buying an additional 4,346 shares during the last quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC now owns 3,469 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,096 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $618,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $107.53. 3,575,566 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,219,304. The business has a fifty day moving average of $113.64 and a 200-day moving average of $108.22. 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 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

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.