Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Sweet Financial Partners LLC

Sweet Financial Partners LLC decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,622 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 314 shares during the period. Sweet Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,788,216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834,840 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $7,976,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882,780 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $341,777,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $264,876,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 493.1% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 1,996,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $117.90 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $91.64 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $113.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $205.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.73, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.67.

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.