Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 161,529 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 11,232 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $21,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ABT. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE ABT opened at $131.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $110.33 and a one year high of $141.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $131.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.22.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

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.