Baugh & Associates LLC Buys 4,737 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Baugh & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,924 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,737 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 3.2% of Baugh & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Baugh & Associates LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’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 directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $116.77 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $92.43 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.08.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

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.