Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Congress Wealth Management LLC DE

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,836 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,109 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABT. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $125.46 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $129.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.12. The company has a market cap of $217.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

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.