Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Graypoint LLC

Graypoint LLC cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,895 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 842 shares during the quarter. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 42,784 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,840,000 after buying an additional 1,828 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 29,761 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,366,000 after buying an additional 1,907 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $582,000. One Wealth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $860,000. Finally, Bath Savings Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 166,132 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded down $1.91 on Friday, hitting $112.34. 5,107,864 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,807,738. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 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 has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $115.45 and its 200 day moving average is $112.39.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ABT. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.57.

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.