Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,535 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 955 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.3% of Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $12,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 23.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 184,961 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $19,990,000 after purchasing an additional 35,127 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 15,651 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,784,000 after buying an additional 3,761 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 99.9% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $281,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 27,866 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,177,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $135.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $234.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $120.75 and its 200 day moving average is $116.93. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $135.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.