Good Life Advisors LLC Acquires 1,279 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Good Life Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,174 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3 %

ABT traded down $0.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $117.50. 1,101,506 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,707,436. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.40. The firm has a market cap of $204.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $91.64 and a 1 year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.