Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Financial Management Network Inc.

Financial Management Network Inc. trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,040 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 278 shares during the quarter. Financial Management Network Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $130.12 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.42. The company has a market cap of $225.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $132.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for 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%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

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.