Focus Financial Network Inc. Sells 511 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Focus Financial Network Inc. cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. 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 large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $3,290,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Paladin Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 6,899 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.8% in 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 period. Arlington Partners LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.7% during 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 period. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 2,343 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $131.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $117.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $227.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $132.50.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.