Estabrook Capital Management Lowers Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Estabrook Capital Management lessened its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,938 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $123.63 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.04. The stock has a market cap of $214.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.