Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC

High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,624 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 634 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.2% of High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 48.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,315 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 21,772 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,262,000 after buying an additional 2,639 shares during the last quarter. Annandale Capital LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1,125.5% in the second quarter. Annandale Capital LLC now owns 33,124 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,442,000 after buying an additional 30,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copperwynd Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 36.0% during the second quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 8,620 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,282 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $125.12 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $125.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11,029,400 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.50.

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.