EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 7,636 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 37.2%, selling 7,636 shares, leaving its holdings at 12,864 shares valued at around $1.7 million.
• Abbott Laboratories recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $144.47 for Abbott Laboratories, with 17 buy ratings and only two strong buy ratings issued for the stock.

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 37.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,864 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 7,636 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.8%

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

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 32.43%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Four investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.