Axecap Investments LLC Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Axecap Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,301 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $116.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.52 billion, a PE ratio of 36.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $91.64 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $114.46 and a 200 day moving average of $108.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.