Stewart & Patten Co. LLC Reduces Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Stewart & Patten Co. LLC lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 190,495 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 3.2% of Stewart & Patten Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $21,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.64.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ABT traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $103.20. The company had a trading volume of 4,588,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,698,602. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $179.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.