Mather Group LLC. Sells 12,440 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Mather Group LLC. lowered its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 36.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,973 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 12,440 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,915,000 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. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $0.42 on Friday, hitting $133.70. 3,114,335 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,158,307. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The business's fifty day moving average is $133.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.