MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC lessened its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,026 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 482 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 0.6% of MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during 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 in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $110.96 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $115.14 and its 200 day moving average is $112.67. 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 stock has a market cap of $192.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 71.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.57.

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.