Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Sivik Global Healthcare LLC

Sivik Global Healthcare LLC decreased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,000 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 3.2% of Sivik Global Healthcare LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cim LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT opened at $132.88 on Friday. 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 has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.88. The company has a market cap of $231.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.

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