Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC Sells 665 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,690 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 665 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.8% of Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $125.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $129.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.12.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.