CCM Investment Advisers LLC Sells 2,205 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,842 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,205 shares during the quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd 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. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $2.13 on Friday, reaching $112.12. 1,441,026 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,188,782. The stock has a market cap of $194.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.39. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 71.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.57.

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.