Sound Income Strategies LLC Decreases Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sound Income Strategies LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,856 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,591 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Aries Wealth Management increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 17,445 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 48,332 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,411,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the period. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc now owns 3,059 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,612 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.8%

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $135.41 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.47. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $235.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.