Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Has $1.70 Million Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,909 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position 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 in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $118.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $114.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.84. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $92.43 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 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 business 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 20.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.67.

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.