Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Edgewood Management LLC

Edgewood Management LLC lowered its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,016 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 4,114 shares during the quarter. Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $117.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $203.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.80. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business’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. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.87%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

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.