Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 257 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,512 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 0.2% of Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,788,216,000 after buying an additional 8,834,840 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,588,614 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $9,530,825,000 after purchasing an additional 7,527,778 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,976,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,548,228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $2,115,836,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $113.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,320,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,906,677. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $106.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.76. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year 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 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $197.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Edward Jones cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.80.

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.