Sargent Investment Group LLC Sells 445 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sargent Investment Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,640 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC raised 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 worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in 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 stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $28,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $107.53. 3,575,566 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,219,304. The stock has a market cap of $186.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.11. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 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 $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

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.