International Assets Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

International Assets Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 18.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,991 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,730 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cim LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.7%

ABT stock traded down $3.67 during trading on Thursday, hitting $133.73. 9,442,414 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,133,970. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $132.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.30.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ABT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.