Stephens Inc. AR Sells 4,369 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 4,369 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $13,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 4.6 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $118.59 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $92.43 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.93 and a 200 day moving average of $108.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.