Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 9,674 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 999,886 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 9,674 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.3% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $132,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 24.8% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 246,749 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $32,730,000 after acquiring an additional 49,005 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,322 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352 shares during the period. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $797,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 161.0% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,682 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,653,000 after purchasing an additional 17,074 shares during the period. Finally, Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $219,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $132.35 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $131.91 and a 200 day moving average of $126.66. The company has a market capitalization of $230.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased 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. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.61.

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.