Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 32.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,293 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 5,317 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 1.1% of Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,282 shares of company stock worth $3,263,348. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $137.68 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $238.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $124.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABT shares. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.19.

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.