Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Position Lowered by Northeast Investment Management

Northeast Investment Management decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 93,661 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Forbes J M & Co. LLP grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 135,603 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $15,338,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 4,982 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 80,095 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $9,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 93,919 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $10,623,000 after purchasing an additional 31,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,814 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $884,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7 %

ABT opened at $129.11 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $132.50. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $117.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.10. The firm has a market cap of $223.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Argus upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories 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.