Polen Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Polen Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,688,363 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,249,247 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 3.9% of Polen Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Polen Capital Management LLC owned 0.73% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,435,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Welch Group LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $133,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,499 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,828,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.94.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $127.02 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $220.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.47. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.