Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Fox Hill Wealth Management

Fox Hill Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 68.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,259 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 9,358 shares during the period. Fox Hill Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 34,903,198 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,963,974,000 after buying an additional 488,764 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,810,977 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,942,709,000 after buying an additional 280,441 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,518,539,000 after buying an additional 2,711,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,940,321 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,463,680,000 after buying an additional 330,844 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $126.18 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $127.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.67. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $218.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ABT. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories 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.