Nadler Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,272 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Nadler Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 37.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,902 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 5,272 shares during the quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,413 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,221 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 762 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 83.3% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,506 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,858,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nikulski Financial Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 11,168 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $107.43. 1,009,596 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,628,387. 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’s 50-day moving average is $113.77 and its 200-day moving average is $107.96. The firm has a market cap of $186.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ABT. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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 boosted their target price 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 target price 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.50.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were 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 in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.