Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Purchases Shares of 272,961 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 272,961 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41,557 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $3,054,573.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $130.48 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $132.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $118.05 and a 200-day moving average of $115.60. 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 stock has a market cap of $226.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.75.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.03 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. This is a positive change 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 currently 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.06.

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.