Swedbank AB Trims Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Swedbank AB cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,705,589 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 547,307 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $192,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $129.05. The stock had a trading volume of 942,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,937,176. The firm has a market cap of $223.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $129.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.71 and a 200-day moving average of $113.80. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

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.