Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by DeDora Capital Inc.

DeDora Capital Inc. cut its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,701 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. DeDora Capital Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP now owns 130,102 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $14,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,701 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 206.5% during the fourth quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 5,468 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $320,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 4,067 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $228,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $130.63 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $132.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $226.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $118.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.82.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories 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.