Allworth Financial LP Lowers Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Allworth Financial LP cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 248,817 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 13,766 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $29,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ABT opened at $130.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $226.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $132.65. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.00.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.