Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Lowers Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 4,025 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $135.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $131.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.37. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $235.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.