Financial Management Network Inc. Sells 278 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Financial Management Network Inc. cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,040 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 278 shares during the period. Financial Management Network Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $130.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $132.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $119.57 and a 200-day moving average of $116.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.06.

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.