Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 182,516 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 765 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $20,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $129.11 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $132.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $117.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.