JGP Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,920 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

JGP Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 90,411 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,920 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.5% of JGP Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ABT. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet raised Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.00.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $3.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $112.44. 12,965,347 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,502,723. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.42 and a 200 day moving average of $105.96. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given 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 1.96%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 67.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 is available at this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. Company insiders own 1.10% 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.