Sierra Capital LLC Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sierra Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,021 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Sierra Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 23,937 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc boosted 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 40,368 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,602,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% in the third quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 18,345 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $134.81 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.11. 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 company has a market cap of $233.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $136.59.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ABT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.