SlateStone Wealth LLC Lowers Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

SlateStone Wealth LLC cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 41,300 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 433 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABT. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $106.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $114.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.97. The company has a market capitalization of $184.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

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

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.