Crescent Sterling Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Crescent Sterling Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,337 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 320 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.2% of Crescent Sterling Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Crescent Sterling Ltd.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $2,179,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,400 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,724 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 376,065 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $42,537,000 after acquiring an additional 21,630 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,907 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $112.34 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $115.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.54.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ABT. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.