Obermeyer Wealth Partners Reduces Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Obermeyer Wealth Partners reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 39.1% 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 14,311 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 9,175 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wealth Partners' holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% in 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. LMG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.0%

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.90 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $129.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $229.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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