Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by BIP Wealth LLC

BIP Wealth LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,128 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the quarter. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,976,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,882,780 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $341,777,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $264,876,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 493.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,401,190 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $249,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 13,194.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,679,805 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $191,515,000 after buying an additional 1,667,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.10 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $98.95 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $203.10 billion, a PE ratio of 35.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.55 and a 200-day moving average of $109.70.

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 company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 66.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

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.