Cohen & Steers Inc. Has $180,000 Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cohen & Steers Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,595 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 11,109 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 409,686 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $46,340,000 after acquiring an additional 2,963 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 64.2% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,421 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 6,028 shares in the last quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,623,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 118.1% in the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 36,634 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,497,000 after purchasing an additional 19,838 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $126.08 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $218.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $130.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.54.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.46% 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.