Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,095 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,732 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,095 shares during the period. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT opened at $116.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $202.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $114.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.62. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $91.64 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

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.