Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.

WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,743 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 2.7% of WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $231,000. Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 172,398 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $19,500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares during the period. TruWealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 125,094 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $14,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 113,306 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $12,816,000 after buying an additional 14,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial & Tax Architects LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 59,069 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,681,000 after buying an additional 2,860 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.57.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $113.45 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $114.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.73. The stock has a market cap of $196.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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 return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 71.73%.

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.