Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 84.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,503 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 229,700 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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 buying an additional 1,298,219 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,229,122,000 after acquiring an additional 343,559 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 32,157 shares during the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,007,098,000 after purchasing an additional 135,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,949,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $576,228,000 after purchasing an additional 20,851 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of ABT opened at $105.90 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $112.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is 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.