Romano Brothers AND Company Cuts Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Romano Brothers AND Company decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,783 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,414 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.1% of Romano Brothers AND Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 25,085 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,761,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 12,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,352,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 3,423 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $103.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $180.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.10. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,928.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jr. Robert E. Funck sold 10,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.57, for a total value of $1,055,843.29. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $119.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.64.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.