Focus Financial Network Inc. Trims Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Focus Financial Network Inc. lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,287 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 511 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Sapient Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 29,084 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,290,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Paladin Wealth LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 6,899 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 11,788 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 38,221 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 2,343 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ABT. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $131.36 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $132.50. 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 $227.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $117.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.24.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value 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 approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.