49 Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

49 Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,687 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $133.62 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 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 firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.