Tradewinds Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 441.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,625 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares during the quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 156,467,081 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,222,332,000 after buying an additional 701,740 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,764,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $28,344,000 after buying an additional 11,508 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of 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 restated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $102.33. 953,900 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,645,135. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $178.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.99, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.05.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

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.