BDF Gestion Sells 8,463 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

BDF Gestion trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,164 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 8,463 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 0.7% of BDF Gestion’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $127.86 on Thursday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.80. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $129.85. The company has a market capitalization of $221.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

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

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.