Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 6,136 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Cresset Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.8%, selling 6,136 shares, and now holds 216,726 shares worth approximately $28.75 million.
• Analyst ratings for Abbott Laboratories suggest a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $144.47, following numerous price upgrades from several financial institutions.
• The company reported earnings of $1.26 per share, meeting analysts' expectations, and its revenue for the quarter was $11.14 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate.

Cresset Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.8% during 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 216,726 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 6,136 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $28,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $33,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE ABT opened at $131.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock's 50 day moving average is $131.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.18. The company has a market capitalization of $229.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $110.33 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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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