Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC

Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,361 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 386 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 808,863 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $91,400,000 after purchasing an additional 50,592 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,305 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. LexAurum Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 117,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $13,381,000 after buying an additional 4,361 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $130.63 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $132.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $118.97 and a 200-day moving average of $116.00. The company has a market capitalization of $226.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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 dated 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.