Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 999,886 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 9,674 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.3% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $132,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $132.35. The stock had a trading volume of 4,950,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,109,757. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $131.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.66. The firm has a market cap of $230.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

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.