Prudent Investors Network Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Prudent Investors Network Inc. has reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 41.6%, now owning 3,458 shares valued at approximately $459,000.
• Abbott Laboratories has seen considerable interest from institutional investors, with over 75.18% of its stock now owned by such entities.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, indicating an annual yield of 1.88%.

Prudent Investors Network Inc. decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 41.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,458 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,460 shares during the quarter. Prudent Investors Network Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Finally, William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $127.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,015,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,944,551. The business's fifty day moving average is $132.20 and its 200-day moving average is $130.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $221.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $102.78 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The company's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

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.