Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 33,923 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,730 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $310,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $250,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,420 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $511,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.7% during the third quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 13,401 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,298,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.64.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $103.91 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.10. The stock has a market cap of $180.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.