Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 90.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,452 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $133.21 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $133.28. The stock has a market cap of $231.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS 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 business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.