Jeppson Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,843 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Encompass More Asset Management boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 3,002 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 3,423 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 21.4% during the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 567 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC now owns 5,396 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 100 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 NYSE ABT traded up $0.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $113.99. 210,469 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,834,630. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $198.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.79.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

Abbott Laboratories 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.