Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management LLC sold 12.0% of its stake in Abbott Laboratories in Q1, holding 14,341 shares worth approximately $1.9 million at the end of the quarter.
• Abbot Laboratories announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of approximately 29.57%.
• The company reported earnings of $1.26 per share for the last quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, and had revenue of $11.14 billion, exceeding projections.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,341 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 1,948 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $1,658,180,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $945,453,000 after purchasing an additional 6,628,310 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $676,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069,771 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,120,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,688,160,000 after buying an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABT. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $1.63 on Wednesday, hitting $129.39. 6,723,731 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,025,790. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $131.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.15. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $107.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $225.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The company's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.