Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.

Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.8% of Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the third quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 21,419 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 91,868 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $28,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,508 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.67 on Friday, hitting $107.53. The stock had a trading volume of 3,575,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,219,304. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $113.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.03. The company has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.50.

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.