Comerica Bank Lowers Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Comerica Bank cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 802,196 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 17,866 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $90,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $380,000. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $302,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 54,237 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,184,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 32.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 332,189 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $37,873,000 after acquiring an additional 81,669 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.59.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. This represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $130.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $226.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.