Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 64,954 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 761,679 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 64,954 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $83,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,610 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. One Day In July LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $271,000. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 29,721 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,878,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 35,825 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,470,000 after acquiring an additional 2,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 25,773 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,496,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.6 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $107.53. The stock had a trading volume of 3,575,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,219,304. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.11.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 2.05%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

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.