Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC

Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 51.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,375 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 5,778 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Insight Folios Inc lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,488,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $113.45. The stock had a trading volume of 6,443,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,199,178. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $114.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.73. The firm has a market cap of $196.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratories's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 66.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.