Ballast Advisors LLC Sells 197 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ballast Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business’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 sale, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was 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.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT opened at $126.53 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.92 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $220.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $132.39 and a 200-day moving average of $129.98. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.47.

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.