Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,285 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 105 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,956 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 15,110 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,487 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 8,181 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $116.35. 922,720 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,709,339. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $91.64 and a 1 year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is 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.