Pointe Capital Management LLC Buys 274 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Pointe Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,954 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Pointe Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $2.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $114.22. 5,989,611 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,724,433. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $91.64 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $198.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $114.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.67.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted 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. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories 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.