Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 150 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,490 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Raymond James increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.00.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.8 %

ABT opened at $113.47 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.14 and a 200 day moving average of $106.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $196.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.75.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.48%.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the business’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 value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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. Insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% 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.