Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 13,527 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Shell Asset Management Co. cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 118,052 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 13,527 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.6% of Shell Asset Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,873 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 3,646 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,103 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 73,308 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $8,292,000 after buying an additional 13,517 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ABT. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm'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 now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $1.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $134.79. 7,128,620 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,117,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The business's 50-day moving average is $129.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.17.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

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.