InTrack Investment Management Inc Sells 1,008 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

InTrack Investment Management Inc lowered its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,688 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,008 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.1% of InTrack Investment Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. InTrack Investment Management Inc’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,588,614 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $9,530,825,000 after purchasing an additional 7,527,778 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,294,784 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,077,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457,847 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,548,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $2,115,836,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.18.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT remained flat at $103.20 during trading on Tuesday. 3,650,242 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,681,587. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.08. The stock has a market cap of $179.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for 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%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. 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%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was 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 $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s 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 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 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.