RNC Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

RNC Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,620 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,023 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 137,153,545 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $14,952,480,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584,552 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 74,817,109 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,156,561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362,889 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,278,132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,886,954 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,022,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 30,218,560 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $113.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.37. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 67.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.00.

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.