Noesis Capital Mangement Corp Sells 427 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,832 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 427 shares during the quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,219 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,229,122,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,153,877 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,164,611,000 after buying an additional 32,157 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,930,872 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,093,091,000 after acquiring an additional 236,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,007,098,000 after acquiring an additional 135,821 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $105.90. 3,610,492 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,320,693. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $112.52 and a 200 day moving average of $108.51. The stock has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 at this link. In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.