Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC

Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,931 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 377 shares during the period. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.7 %

ABT opened at $127.28 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.50 and its 200-day moving average is $113.64. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $129.85. The company has a market capitalization of $220.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ABT. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.