Xcel Wealth Management LLC Has $1.88 Million Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,659 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.6 %

ABT opened at $137.99 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $138.37. 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 company has a market cap of $239.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $123.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.77.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.