Advisory Alpha LLC Decreases Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Advisory Alpha LLC trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,922 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 11,165 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 3,002 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC now owns 5,396 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 8,290 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $113.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $197.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $111.97 and its 200 day moving average is $108.15. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.10% 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.