Cornerstone Capital Inc. Decreases Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cornerstone Capital Inc. lowered its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 241,640 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 11,176 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 2.9% of Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $26,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $107.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ABT. Citigroup increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.