Shum Financial Group Inc. Invests $1.05 Million in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Shum Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 8,949 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,054,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Insight Folios Inc raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% during the third quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 1,478 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $117.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 281,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,676,885. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $115.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.04. The company has a market capitalization of $204.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.91, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.72. 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 has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories 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 value 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 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.47% 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.