Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. Has $4.01 Million Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,466 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,266 shares during the quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during 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 period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $132.07 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 company has a market cap of $229.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $132.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $116.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.71.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ABT. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus 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.