Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) SVP Eric Shroff Sells 562 Shares

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ABT opened at $137.68 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.42. The company has a market cap of $238.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abbott Laboratories

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.19.

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.