Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stake Cut by American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP

American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP cut its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,917 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,320,866,000 after buying an additional 30,218,560 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $1,893,715,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,278,132,000 after buying an additional 4,886,954 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 83.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,925,012 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $582,924,000 after buying an additional 2,235,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 99.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,140,866 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $371,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,700 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ABT opened at $111.31 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $115.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 67.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 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 value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 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 value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 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.