First Horizon Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,643 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,643 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 39,308 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. now owns 41,801 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,048,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 19,179 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 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 transaction of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded down $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $105.80. 1,571,959 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,558,880. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $113.06 and its 200 day moving average is $108.43.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

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.