Davis R M Inc. Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Davis R M Inc. decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,645 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,452 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 42,978 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,900,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,102,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,265,762,000 after purchasing an additional 585,915 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 12.2% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 219,229 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $24,995,000 after purchasing an additional 23,834 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.2% in the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 28,035 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after buying an additional 7,804 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.76 on Monday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $115.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

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.