Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is Philadelphia Trust Co.'s 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Philadelphia Trust Co. reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 8.0% in the first quarter, now owning 266,641 shares worth approximately $35.37 million, making it the 6th largest position in their portfolio.
• CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories for about $746,752.50, representing a 9.81% decrease in his ownership.
• Wall Street analysts are generally optimistic, with four hold ratings, seventeen buy ratings, and a consensus target price of $144.47 for Abbott Laboratories' stock.

Philadelphia Trust Co. decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 266,641 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 23,112 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 3.0% of Philadelphia Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Philadelphia Trust Co.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $35,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,862,453.65. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT opened at $131.66 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $131.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $110.33 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.57%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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.

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