Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,066 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,345 shares during the quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,518,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711,586 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after buying an additional 2,323,807 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 13,194.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,679,805 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $191,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667,170 shares during the period. Sessa Capital IM L.P. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 47.1% in the third quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 3,749,502 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $427,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,409 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $135,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $129.11 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $132.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $117.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.18. The company has a market cap of $223.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

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

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.