Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Tranquility Partners LLC

Tranquility Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,570 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,313 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.1% of Tranquility Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $28,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 132.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded down $3.31 on Wednesday, hitting $105.90. 11,999,074 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,677,717. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.57 and its 200 day moving average is $107.60. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 67.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.