Insider Selling: Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) EVP Sells 22,852 Shares of Stock

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.2 %

ABT traded down $1.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $104.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,149,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,560,422. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $112.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABT. Barclays decreased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

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.