Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Novare Capital Management LLC

Novare Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 106,074 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 475 shares during the quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $11,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bath Savings Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its stake 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 period. Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,828,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 25,052 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $125.12 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $125.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.31. The company has a market capitalization of $217.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11,029,400 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.50.

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.