Sheets Smith Wealth Management Has $327,000 Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,971 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 661 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 236.0% during the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ABT opened at $105.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $183.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The business 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 20.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays decreased 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. 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 three months. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.