Archford Capital Strategies LLC Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Archford Capital Strategies LLC trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,349 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.50.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $125.12 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $125.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.26 and a 200 day moving average of $113.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $217.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11,029,400 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 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.