Sargent Investment Group LLC Sells 15,401 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sargent Investment Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Tanager Wealth Management LLP grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP now owns 2,838 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 34,413 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 158.5% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 68,653 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 3,840 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $129.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $224.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. 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 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $129.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $116.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.52.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.34. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. 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. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 23,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,152,064.50. This trade represents a 15.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James reissued 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. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.06.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.