Austin Wealth Management LLC Acquires 83 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Austin Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,134 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Austin Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $329,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 22,740 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 216,787 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $24,521,000 after purchasing an additional 23,023 shares during the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,731,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $132.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $229.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $126.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.13. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.