Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,159 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,480 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $17,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,236 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. LMG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.5 %

ABT opened at $140.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $123.59 and its 200-day moving average is $118.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.00.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value 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 approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.