Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,997 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,940 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 4,997 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $134.23. The company had a trading volume of 2,144,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,092,192. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $233.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $131.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.47. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.