Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 321,572 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $34,579,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional 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 approximately $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $113.58 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.15. The firm has a market cap of $197.59 billion, a PE ratio of 35.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.33.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.