Financial Advocates Investment Management Has $1.40 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,304 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,788,216,000 after buying an additional 8,834,840 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,976,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,882,780 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,675,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,103,997,000 after purchasing an additional 508,524 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 27.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,428,752 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $771,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,835 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,352,134 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $721,984,000 after purchasing an additional 452,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $113.39 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $92.43 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. The stock has a market cap of $197.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.78.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 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 company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ABT. Barclays increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.