XML Financial LLC Sells 597 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

XML Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,534 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 597 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 76.5% during the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,254 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 4,445 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 175,537 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $19,952,000 after purchasing an additional 16,717 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 12.2% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 20,542 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 2,239 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,099 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 22,598 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,568,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $116.59 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $92.43 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend 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 stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.