GFG Capital LLC Decreases Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

GFG Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 25.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,826 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 610 shares during the quarter. GFG Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.11.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $133.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $232.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $133.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.69. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.61%.

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.