Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Aristotle Capital Management LLC

Aristotle Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,257 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.59.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $132.92 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $130.21 and a 200-day moving average of $122.92. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

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.