Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Buffington Mohr McNeal

Buffington Mohr McNeal cut its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,539 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,651 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 2.0% of Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 132.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.9 %

ABT stock traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $109.91. 3,204,095 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,533,748. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Barclays raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.14.

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.