Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,397 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $21,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 165.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 89,342 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $10,105,000 after purchasing an additional 55,643 shares during the period. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,795 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $158,000. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 525,283 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $59,415,000 after purchasing an additional 14,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 459,000 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $51,917,000 after purchasing an additional 6,752 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the 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. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $130.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $130.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.