Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 226 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,744 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE ABT opened at $115.74 on Thursday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $96.20 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $200.75 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

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.