Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,923 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,730 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $250,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,420 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $511,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 13,401 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after buying an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total transaction of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total transaction of $1,055,843.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.64.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $103.91 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $180.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $104.79 and a 200 day moving average of $110.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Abbott Laboratories 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.