Boston Partners Cuts Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Boston Partners trimmed its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,679,680 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 53,184 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $417,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 374.9% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 112,369 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $12,710,000 after buying an additional 88,707 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,669,000. Evoke Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 18,889 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 25,420 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 117,416 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $13,281,000 after buying an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ABT. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $127.54 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $127.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.58. 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 has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.