Bank OZK Sells 665 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bank OZK lessened its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,635 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 665 shares during the period. Bank OZK’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 218.2% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,848 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 8,125 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 12,304 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Balanced Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.9% during the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 32,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,691,000 after buying an additional 3,952 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $137.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $138.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.77. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.