2,056 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Bought by Baron Wealth Management LLC

Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,056 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $117.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $98.95 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.