Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Position Decreased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 41.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 375,779 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 260,687 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $42,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $118.96 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $115.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.19. The firm has a market cap of $206.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued 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 business 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 13.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted 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. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.