Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Creative Capital Management Investments LLC

Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 824 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $93,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 268,538 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $30,616,000 after buying an additional 40,783 shares during the period. Baker Boyer National Bank acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 4,079 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $3,623,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $130.63 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $132.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.