Prospera Financial Services Inc Raises Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,880 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,808 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 4,557 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 48,075 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,481,000 after purchasing an additional 3,591 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 262,374 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $29,913,000 after acquiring an additional 9,401 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,522 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $117.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $203.56 billion, a PE ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $115.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $98.95 and a 52-week high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho boosted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.