Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Legacy Trust

Legacy Trust trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,777 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Legacy Trust’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gries Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 15,513 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 12,876 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,456,000 after buying an additional 1,711 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,188,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 5,033 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 332 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 $127.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.80. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $129.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

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.