Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by PFG Advisors

PFG Advisors lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 28.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,875 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 3,084 shares during the period. PFG Advisors' holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded up $0.89 on Friday, reaching $126.53. The company had a trading volume of 4,741,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,571,204. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.92 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $220.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73. The company's fifty day moving average is $132.39 and its 200 day moving average is $129.88. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 29.57%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction 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 represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by 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.