Janus Henderson Group PLC Cuts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 23.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,571,362 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,739,469 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.32% of Abbott Laboratories worth $635,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.7 %

ABT stock opened at $116.81 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $202.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued 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 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.