Everence Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Everence Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,910 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 4,446 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $131,000. United Bank raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 27,280 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,229,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 813,253 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $96,257,000 after buying an additional 15,521 shares during the last quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the first quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 19,467 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Lumature Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 636.2% in the first quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 in the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $109.21. The stock had a trading volume of 7,238,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,590,463. 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 has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The stock 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 market capitalization of $189.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.01%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 67.48%.

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.