Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Arrow Financial Corp

Arrow Financial Corp lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 40.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,482 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 13,193 shares during the quarter. Arrow Financial Corp's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 652,656 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $73,822,000 after purchasing an additional 38,231 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 853,482 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $96,537,000 after purchasing an additional 4,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4%

ABT traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $125.27. 1,673,221 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,964,584. The firm's fifty day moving average is $132.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.92 and a 1-year 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 company has a market cap of $217.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company'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 sale, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ABT. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

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.