Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Heck Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Heck Capital Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 46.3% in the 1st quarter, now holding 4,206 shares valued at $558,000.
• Abbott Laboratories recently reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, matching analyst estimates, with revenues increasing by 7.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, to be paid on August 15th, representing a 1.8% dividend yield.

Heck Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 46.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,206 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 3,624 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $130.92 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $107.60 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $131.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.16. The firm has a market cap of $227.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total value of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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