Philadelphia Trust Co. Trims Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Philadelphia Trust Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 289,753 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 9,497 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 2.4% of Philadelphia Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Philadelphia Trust Co.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $32,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $126.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $219.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ABT. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

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.