Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) EVP Sells $12,199,967.94 in Stock

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $137.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $238.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $125.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.82. 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 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $217,000. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 5,454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 58,605 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 15,190 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cim LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,919,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.19.

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.