Yousif Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,275 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 7,391 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $31,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.57. 3,849,265 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,728,185. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.97. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $186.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 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 (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 return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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. Raymond James raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

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.