Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Sells 1,133 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,457 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.5% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ABT traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $115.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 165,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,691,445. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.20 and its 200-day moving average is $109.08. 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 $201.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ABT. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

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.