Congress Asset Management Co. Lowers Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 38.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,818 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,361 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $118.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $92.43 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $206.33 billion, a PE ratio of 36.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $114.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.84.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.