Forsta AP Fonden Raises Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 422,100 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,500 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $48,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $2.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.22. 5,989,611 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,724,433. The company has a market cap 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $91.64 and a one year high of $121.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $114.63 and a 200 day moving average of $108.70.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued 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 payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Barclays boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.67.

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.