Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Hartford Financial Management Inc.

Hartford Financial Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,484 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,096 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.1% of Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,518,539,000 after buying an additional 2,711,586 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,746,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,807 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 13,194.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,679,805 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $191,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,170 shares during the period. Sessa Capital IM L.P. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 47.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 3,749,502 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $427,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,409 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $128.75 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $129.85. 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 $223.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.94 and its 200-day moving average is $113.90.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

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.