Probity Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Probity Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,516 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,788,216,000 after buying an additional 8,834,840 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the 1st 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 purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $341,777,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at about $264,876,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 493.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,401,190 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $249,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996,320 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $118.23 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $91.64 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.40. The company has a market capitalization of $205.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.71.

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.