Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,583 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 4.3% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,319,347 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,518,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711,586 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,720,429 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $8,746,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,807 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 13,194.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,679,805 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $191,515,000 after buying an additional 1,667,170 shares during the last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 3,749,502 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $427,481,000 after buying an additional 1,200,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,764,061 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,144,818,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,040 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $1.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.74. The stock had a trading volume of 745,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,935,543. The stock has a market cap of $223.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $129.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.80. 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, January 22nd. The healthcare product maker reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.34. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for 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%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.