Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,471 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,147 shares during the period. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after buying an additional 1,298,219 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,229,122,000 after acquiring an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,153,877 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,164,611,000 after purchasing an additional 32,157 shares during the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,007,098,000 after purchasing an additional 135,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,949,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $576,228,000 after purchasing an additional 20,851 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABT. Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $107.53 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.11. The firm has a market cap of $186.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

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.