Wesbanco Bank Inc. Trims Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,066 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 16,058 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $12,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,788,216,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834,840 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,976,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $341,777,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,876,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 493.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,401,190 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $249,508,000 after buying an additional 1,996,320 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of ABT opened at $117.25 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.32. The firm has a market cap of $203.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $90.87 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

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.