PFG Investments LLC Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

PFG Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,377 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $384,000. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 13.8% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 21,772 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,262,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $314,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 170,850 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $17,753,000 after purchasing an additional 8,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 3.6 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $129.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $224.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $129.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.46.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11,029,400 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 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.