Balentine LLC Purchases 2,713 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,296 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,713 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE ABT opened at $117.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $204.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $92.43 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.02.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ABT. Edward Jones cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.