Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC Sells 2,879 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 51.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,879 shares during the quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.11.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents 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 through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $133.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,852,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,155,060. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $133.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.86.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm 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%. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

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.