Independent Advisor Alliance Reduces Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Independent Advisor Alliance reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.6%, owning 71,816 shares worth approximately $9.53 million at the end of the 1st quarter.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a quarterly revenue of $11.14 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.26 for the quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 29.57%.

Independent Advisor Alliance cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,816 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 3,451 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $22,527,039,000 after buying an additional 1,177,739 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,688,160,000 after buying an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $6,118,903,000 after buying an additional 795,073 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,494,851,000 after buying an additional 2,060,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,120,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616,471 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $129.39. The company had a trading volume of 6,723,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,025,790. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $225.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70. The business's 50 day moving average price is $131.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.15. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $107.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating 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 on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

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.