Sanchez Wealth Management Group Trims Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sanchez Wealth Management Group lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,923 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 777 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up approximately 0.2% of Sanchez Wealth Management Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Sanchez Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 42,762 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,875,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.7% in the third quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 5,671 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,639 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 846 shares during the period. Finally, Patten Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 7,741 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $883,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $129.11 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $223.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $117.46 and a 200 day moving average of $115.10. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $132.50.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced 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. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ABT. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of 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 issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.