Sigma Planning Corp Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,478 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 3,592 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target 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 raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $131.79. The stock had a trading volume of 9,879,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,171,307. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $133.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.31. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The business 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given 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 1.79%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.