Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,762 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 6,397 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after buying an additional 2,323,807 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 34,903,198 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,963,974,000 after buying an additional 488,764 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,810,977 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,942,709,000 after buying an additional 280,441 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,518,539,000 after buying an additional 2,711,586 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,940,321 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,463,680,000 after buying an additional 330,844 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.6 %

ABT stock opened at $137.23 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.19.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.