Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Strengthening Families & Communities LLC

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 96.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 277 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 7,805 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $31,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Insight Folios Inc raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. River Street Advisors LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $131.48 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $117.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.42. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $132.50. 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 $228.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s 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 owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.