Madison Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Madison Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 49.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,145 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 95,572 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $0.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $126.53. The company had a trading volume of 4,741,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,571,204. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.92 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $220.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73. The business's 50-day moving average is $132.39 and its 200 day moving average is $129.88. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 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 at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

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.