Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,279 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.6 %

ABT stock opened at $107.51 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $113.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $186.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’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 $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 in the last 90 days. 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.