Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 63,570 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,753 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $129.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $131.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.15. The stock has a market cap of $225.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $109.76 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 29.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.