Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 50.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,016 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 21,597 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.0% of Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.00.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.04 on Thursday, hitting $113.52. 698,002 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,670,940. The company has a market cap of $196.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.37.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.48%.

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.