Legato Capital Management LLC Has $541,000 Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Legato Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 52.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,779 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 5,376 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Diversified Portfolios Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Portfolios Inc. now owns 3,766 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 470,094 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $53,327,000 after buying an additional 201,556 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 8,699 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $733,000. Finally, Certuity LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 6,221 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $130.63 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $132.65.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 1.81%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.