Graybill Wealth Management LTD. Increases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Graybill Wealth Management LTD. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,659 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up approximately 2.1% of Graybill Wealth Management LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Graybill Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $7,651,000. Dundas Partners LLP increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $34,313,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $5,634,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 32.7% during the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 73,651 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,371,000 after buying an additional 18,131 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,483 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,624,000 after acquiring an additional 14,215 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $116.73. 504,511 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,719,069. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $114.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.52. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $91.64 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.67.

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.