Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 452,790 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,995 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $51,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

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

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $115.63. 876,067 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,682,616. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $96.92 and a 1-year high of $121.64.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Abbott Laboratories 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.