Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 10,250 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 575,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 10,250 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $76,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 8.3%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $120.76 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

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.