First Horizon Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 33.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,602 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 39,277 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cim LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $133.70. 3,114,335 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,158,307. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $133.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.01. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $232.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.61.

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.