Bill Few Associates Inc. Sells 184 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bill Few Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,946 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.4% of Bill Few Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 51.3% in the third quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $117.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.08. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11,029,400 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.93.

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.