Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,060 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 449 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 891.9% in the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 55,544 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $6,114,000 after buying an additional 49,944 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,032,424 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $223,709,000 after purchasing an additional 297,789 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 452,520 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $49,809,000 after purchasing an additional 28,459 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 26,765 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,946,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,637,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.41. The stock had a trading volume of 156,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,711,690. The company has a market capitalization of $202.54 billion, a PE ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 69.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABT. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.15.

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.