Argyle Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,615 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,150 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 21,419 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 91,868 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 257,508 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $28,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter. 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.22. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. 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.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued 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 yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were 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 directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were 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 directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped 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. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

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.