Bailard Inc. Sells 334 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bailard Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,251 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Evercore ISI lifted 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 reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lowered 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on 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 boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research 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, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 in the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.7 %

ABT traded down $0.70 on Wednesday, reaching $106.89. 5,050,066 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,719,627. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $185.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.97. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued 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 business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

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.