Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Sells 1,968 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,052 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,968 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $134.40 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $233.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $132.82 and its 200 day moving average is $127.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.