Townsquare Capital LLC Sells 1,669 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Townsquare Capital LLC lowered its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 364,889 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,669 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $41,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Baldwin Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 34,165 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,895,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the period. Carlson Capital Management boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 8.1% in the third quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 8,242 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $719,000. Shum Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,054,000. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 299,133 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $34,104,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories 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 value of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $117.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.58 billion, a PE ratio of 35.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

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.