Wealthfront Advisers LLC Reduces Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 95.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,845 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 117,039 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. United Bank boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 52,371 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,971,000 after buying an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 13,788 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $464,000. Finally, Tower Bridge Advisors grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 45,017 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,132,000 after buying an additional 1,597 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $127.02 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $220.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $127.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.