Accredited Investors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,788 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,976,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $341,777,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $264,876,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 493.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,401,190 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $249,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 13,194.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,679,805 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $191,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667,170 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $115.90 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $97.64 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.52. The stock has a market cap of $201.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.