Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by BLB&B Advisors LLC

BLB&B Advisors LLC lowered its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,294 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,410 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $116.12 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $91.64 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.56. The company has a market capitalization of $202.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.17, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. 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 (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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current 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 issued 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 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.