GM Advisory Group LLC Sells 362 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

GM Advisory Group LLC cut its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,689 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 362 shares during the quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 90,252 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $10,180,000 after acquiring an additional 9,593 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 25,948 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,935,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $626,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $127.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $221.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $127.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories 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.