Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 204,478 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,423,015 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 204,478 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Abbott Laboratories worth $162,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $115.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $115.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.49. The stock has a market cap of $201.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $97.64 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted 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 began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. 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, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus 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.