Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Has $4.79 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,468 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,420 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises 0.9% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 135,026 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $14,862,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 5,439 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 24,577 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,705,000 after purchasing an additional 6,682 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 94.1% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 10,518 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,009,838 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $551,434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477,671 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $107.53. 3,575,566 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,219,304. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $186.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $113.64 and a 200 day moving average of $108.03.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 13.96%. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

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.