Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 229,700 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 84.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,503 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 229,700 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,219 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,016,235 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,229,122,000 after buying an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,153,877 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,164,611,000 after acquiring an additional 32,157 shares during the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,007,098,000 after acquiring an additional 135,821 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,949,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $576,228,000 after acquiring an additional 20,851 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE ABT opened at $105.90 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.71. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $183.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.32%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.