Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,303 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE ABT opened at $117.82 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $91.25 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.96 billion, a PE ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $113.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.40.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.46.

Abbott Laboratories 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.