Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,053,028 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 1,543,960 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.69% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,326,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% in the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a 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 $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $104.74. 7,349,729 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,429,147. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $111.14 and a 200-day moving average of $108.95. The stock has a market cap of $182.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,787 shares of company stock valued at $4,098,073 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories 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.

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