Northcape Wealth Management LLC Has $4.76 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,255 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 315 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.7% of Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 14,037.9% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,349,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $148,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,633 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,022,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,219 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 30.8% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,627,373 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $351,311,000 after acquiring an additional 853,997 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 28.0% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,664,856 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $354,941,000 after acquiring an additional 801,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 47.7% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,423,715 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $234,737,000 after acquiring an additional 783,090 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.2 %

ABT stock traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $105.94. The stock had a trading volume of 5,073,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,625,535. The firm has a market cap of $183.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $113.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.34.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction 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. Insiders sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.