The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,539,497 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 603,585 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.20% of Abbott Laboratories worth $400,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,678 shares of company stock worth $12,408,743 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.2 %

ABT traded up $0.21 on Thursday, hitting $130.96. 6,764,691 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,092,744. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $227.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.59.

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.