Romano Brothers AND Company Reduces Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Romano Brothers AND Company cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,928 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 709 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.0% of Romano Brothers AND Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bath Savings Trust Co lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,664 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $2,828,000. Dundas Partners LLP raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $34,313,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $22,091,000 after acquiring an additional 31,720 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $113.45 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $121.64. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $196.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.57.

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.