Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,150 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,053 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises 1.5% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $19,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds 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 worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related 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 value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho boosted 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. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE ABT opened at $119.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $207.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.19, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $91.64 and a 12 month high of $121.64. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.50.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

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.