Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,769 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,867 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.4% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $133.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.30. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $232.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.61.

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.