Cadence Bank Decreases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cadence Bank lessened its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,937 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,070 shares during the quarter. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Carlson Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.1% in the third quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 8,242 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $719,000. Shum Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,054,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 299,133 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $34,104,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.4% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 8,843 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,008,000 after buying an additional 973 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $117.95 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average of $115.59 and a 200 day moving average of $110.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 is accessible through this link. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.