Vest Financial LLC Buys 53,887 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 470,358 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,887 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $53,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, 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 report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE ABT traded up $1.50 on Friday, reaching $119.39. The company had a trading volume of 6,742,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,732,088. The company’s fifty day moving average is $113.97 and its 200-day moving average is $108.50. 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 has a 1-year low of $91.64 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

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 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 firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

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.