SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,102 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.6% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 118,828 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $12,347,000 after acquiring an additional 4,166 shares during the period. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,477,000. Lmcg Investments LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 176,580 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,348,000 after purchasing an additional 32,504 shares in the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the second quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,927 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,447,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 58,419 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,070,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.2 %

ABT stock opened at $112.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $195.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.67. 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 has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.57.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.