Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Fernwood Investment Management LLC

Fernwood Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,262 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 161 shares during the period. Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Naviter Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 16,938 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,864,000 after buying an additional 2,708 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 26,181 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,882,000 after buying an additional 3,088 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 35,931 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,955,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 7,556 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Counsel Inc bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $232,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Monday, hitting $107.29. The company had a trading volume of 3,306,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,632,260. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $113.64 and a 200 day moving average of $108.22. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ABT. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.