Appleton Partners Inc. MA Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,022 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 999 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5 %

ABT opened at $103.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $180.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.64.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% 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.