Simmons Bank Has $4.69 Million Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Simmons Bank lowered its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,587 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,869 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 21,419 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 91,868 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 634.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 29,758 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,882,000 after acquiring an additional 25,707 shares during the period. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,670,048 over the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:ABT traded down $1.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $104.66. 3,607,648 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,528,825. The company’s 50 day moving average is $112.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $182.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Abbott Laboratories 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.