Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 40.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,386 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 16,876 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 132.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 333 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT traded up $2.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $107.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,525,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,763,002. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $186.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.74. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $114.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.57.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.