BCS Wealth Management Sells 115 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

BCS Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,561 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. BCS Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ABT. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 118,828 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $12,347,000 after purchasing an additional 4,166 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $3,194,000. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC now owns 198,237 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $20,599,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. now owns 152,300 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $15,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 27.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,428,752 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $771,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $113.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $196.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.23 and its 200 day moving average is $112.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.57.

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.