Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Northcape Wealth Management LLC

Northcape Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 41,502 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.5% of Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Callahan Advisors LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 84,439 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $9,551,000 after purchasing an additional 10,022 shares during the period. Mcdonald Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 16,153 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,827,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 54,755 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,193,000 after buying an additional 3,241 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $130.12 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $132.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $119.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.42. The company has a market capitalization of $225.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.