Nelson Capital Management LLC Has $529,000 Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Nelson Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,675 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,173 shares during the period. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $136.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $235.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. 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 has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $136.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $121.65 and its 200 day moving average is $117.30.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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 target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.