Investment Partners LTD. Has $870,000 Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Investment Partners LTD. lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,900 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 534 shares during the quarter. Investment Partners LTD.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 68.8% during the third quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 23,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 41,981 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,066,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 136,829 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $13,252,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was 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 owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $107.53. 3,575,566 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,219,304. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.03. 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 has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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