Andrea F. Wainer Sells 949 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $137.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $238.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $124.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.42. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.19.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.