Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Has $10.65 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC cut its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,187 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.4% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,601 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 228.1% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 6,080 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 24,988 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,782,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 117,879 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $13,333,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

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 owns 125,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,152,064.50. This represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays reaffirmed 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 raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.4 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $135.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $234.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $135.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $120.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.88. 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 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 net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

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.