Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC Sells 496 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC cut its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,824 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 314,605 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $35,400,000 after purchasing an additional 134,803 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $722,000. Cairn Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,179 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gries Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 15,513 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,755,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ABT. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (up previously from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $127.69 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $129.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $116.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.00.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insider Activity

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 trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.