Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,811,351 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 507,996 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,449,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $131.71 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $228.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $130.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

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.