Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by NTV Asset Management LLC

NTV Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,650 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 367 shares during the period. NTV Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $130.63 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $226.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $118.97 and its 200 day moving average is $116.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $132.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed 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. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

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.