Broadleaf Partners LLC Sells 335 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Broadleaf Partners LLC decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,476 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 335 shares during the quarter. Broadleaf Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 71,928 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $131.00 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $227.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

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.