ProVise Management Group LLC Has $434,000 Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

ProVise Management Group LLC decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,835 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 775 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. United Bank boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 27,284 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,700 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,868,000 after purchasing an additional 11,768 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 9,392 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,449 shares of company stock valued at $15,463,316. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of ABT opened at $127.64 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $221.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 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 business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.