Verity & Verity LLC Has $7.78 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Verity & Verity LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,626 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,101 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cim LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,919,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.41. The company had a trading volume of 3,927,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,098,052. The company has a market capitalization of $235.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.25.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.59.

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.