Oakworth Capital Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Oakworth Capital Inc. lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,881 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 478 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.3 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $132.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $132.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.83. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.