Vestor Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Vestor Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,699 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,188 shares during the quarter. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 652,656 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $73,822,000 after purchasing an additional 38,231 shares in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $242,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $125.90 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.92 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $219.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $132.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given 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 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the 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 owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.