CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Sells 119,519 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,667,557 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 119,519 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.0% of CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Abbott Laboratories worth $533,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $2,373,461,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $635,056,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,746,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,807 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 22,372.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,201,364 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $135,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,018 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,764,061 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,144,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABT. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock worth $15,463,316. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ABT opened at $130.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $226.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $130.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.37. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

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.