Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Holdings Cut by Lantz Financial LLC

Lantz Financial LLC cut its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,313 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 233 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 848.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 216,337 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $22,480,000 after purchasing an additional 193,537 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 871,196 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $90,421,000 after purchasing an additional 38,676 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $426,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2,317.1% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 123,296 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $12,812,000 after purchasing an additional 118,195 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,654,712 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $483,673,000 after buying an additional 563,506 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $125.12 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $125.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $115.26 and its 200-day moving average is $113.31. The stock has a market cap of $217.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11,029,400 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is a positive change from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. 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 note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.50.

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.