Bristlecone Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bristlecone Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,043 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $114.22 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $91.64 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.66. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Raymond James reissued 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.67.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.