Palisade Asset Management LLC Sells 3,967 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Palisade Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 235,501 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,967 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 2.6% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $26,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho upped 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, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.4 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $204.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.88. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $121.64. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

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.