Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,903 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $118.95 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.25. The company has a market cap of $206.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ABT. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’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 transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.