Foresight Global Investors Inc. Cuts Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Foresight Global Investors Inc. cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,830 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 0.7% of Foresight Global Investors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Foresight Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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, Citigroup raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, 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 value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,787 shares of company stock worth $4,098,073. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.3 %

ABT traded down $0.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $104.67. The stock had a trading volume of 5,807,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,564,612. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.82. The company has a market capitalization of $182.09 billion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

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.