Neo Ivy Capital Management Sells 28,732 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Neo Ivy Capital Management reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 87.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,214 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 28,732 shares during the quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th 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 during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 86.6% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 5,393 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 5,149 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,332,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $126.53 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73. 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 has a 1 year low of $99.92 and a 1 year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.47.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.