Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by First Western Trust Bank

First Western Trust Bank reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,571 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 9,244 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $113.10 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $196.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.67 and a 200-day moving average of $108.79.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s 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.