VELA Investment Management LLC Sells 2,867 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

VELA Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,769 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,867 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.4% of VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 142,370 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $16,103,000 after acquiring an additional 10,350 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,896 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 4,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inceptionr LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 8,747 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $133.35. The company had a trading volume of 4,780,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,168,649. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $133.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.69. The company has a market capitalization of $232.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.73. 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 posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share 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 given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Barclays raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.11.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by 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.