Paragon Capital Management Ltd Sells 273 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Paragon Capital Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,281 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 273 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Ltd’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $116.13 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $113.13 and its 200-day moving average is $108.35. The stock has a market cap of $202.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.15.

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.