Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Raises Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 90.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,591 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 6,452 shares during the quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 17.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 268,538 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $30,616,000 after buying an additional 40,783 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 43,619 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,973,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Monte Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC now owns 59,855 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,824,000 after buying an additional 4,610 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $569,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ABT traded up $1.87 on Friday, reaching $135.04. The stock had a trading volume of 7,117,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,596,108. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.65. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $135.41. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABT. UBS Group increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price objective (up from $149.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. The trade was a 15.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.