Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 19.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,313 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 11,409 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 41,771 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,373,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 25,103 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,608,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% in the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,589 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Means Investment CO. Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% in the second quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 32,819 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,410,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

ABT opened at $113.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.19. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratories’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 66.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.71.

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.