Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 21.9% in 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 11,333 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 3,181 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ABT. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of ABT traded up $3.30 on Friday, hitting $123.81. 19,570,335 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,224,928. The company has a market capitalization of $215.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.56. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.92 and a one year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The company's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

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.