Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Sells 99 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,583 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 4.3% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.74. 745,977 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,935,543. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.80. 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 company has a market capitalization of $223.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $129.85.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 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 given a dividend of $0.59 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Abbott Laboratories 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.