Financial Avengers Inc. Has $81,000 Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Financial Avengers Inc. decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 716 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 116 shares during the quarter. Financial Avengers Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $81,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,873 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $200,000. Capital & Planning LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 8,673 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 4,674 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 82,443 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $9,325,000 after acquiring an additional 15,692 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $135.18 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $235.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.57 and a 200 day moving average of $124.37.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.61%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.59.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.