Savant Capital LLC Trims Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Savant Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,187 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,077 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Liberty Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,939 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,970,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 25,863 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,925,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 25,400 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,881,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Washburn Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $279,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the 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 directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.36 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $132.50. The firm has a market cap of $227.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $117.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. 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 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

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.