Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Truepoint Inc.

Truepoint Inc. reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,169 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 497 shares during the quarter. Truepoint Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $117.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.91.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

Insider Activity

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

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.