SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,004 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 186 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Oppenheimer began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded up $2.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $118.11. The stock had a trading volume of 988,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,698,629. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.15, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $113.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.34. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $91.25 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

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.