Gradient Investments LLC Sells 2,806 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Gradient Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,729 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,806 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Woodstock Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 124,015 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $13,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,154 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. Align Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. Parkside Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Advisors LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 36,766 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,130,000 after buying an additional 4,863 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total transaction of $26,842.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,222,103.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total value of $68,375.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,091,998.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total value of $26,842.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,222,103.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,971 shares of company stock valued at $199,140. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.67.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $97.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $168.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.68. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $93.25 and a twelve month high of $124.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.86.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 25th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 26.09% and a net margin of 15.88%. The business had revenue of $10.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following business segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products.