Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Monte Financial Group LLC

Monte Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 59,681 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 174 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 2.9% of Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Bath Savings Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,664 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,828,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $22,091,000 after acquiring an additional 31,720 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 30.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 107,308 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $12,234,000 after purchasing an additional 25,052 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on ABT shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $125.12 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.31. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $125.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11,029,400 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.