Almanack Investment Partners LLC. Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

by · The Markets Daily

Almanack Investment Partners LLC. lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Free Report) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,166 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Almanack Investment Partners LLC.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 8,279 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 4,092 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $413,000. Finally, Little House Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $1,956,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $134.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.61.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on ABT

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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