Financial & Tax Architects LLC Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Financial & Tax Architects LLC lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,814 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,255 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.9% of Financial & Tax Architects LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Financial & Tax Architects LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.89 on Friday, hitting $126.53. The stock had a trading volume of 4,741,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,571,204. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.92 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company's 50 day moving average price is $132.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.88.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 29.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories 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.