Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 69,376 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 525 shares during the period. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $131.67 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $228.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $129.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.24.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.