Nexus Investment Management ULC Lowers Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Nexus Investment Management ULC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,490 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $231,000. Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 172,398 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $19,500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,748 shares during the period. TruWealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 125,094 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $14,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 113,306 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $12,816,000 after purchasing an additional 14,259 shares during the period. Finally, Financial & Tax Architects LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 59,069 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $113.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $196.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $114.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.57.

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.