Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC

Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,569 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $521,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third 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. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $117.76 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.94. 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 stock has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories 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 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 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ABT. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.