World Equity Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

World Equity Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,004 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 4,980 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1,677.8% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 320 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ABT traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $111.00. 4,643,293 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,033,353. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $193.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.58, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $105.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.76. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ABT shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.00.

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.