Sargent Investment Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sargent Investment Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,690 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 15,401 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.50, for a total value of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. StockNews.com raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $2.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $132.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,679,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,253,920. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.80 and a 200-day moving average of $114.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $132.50.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

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.