Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC Buys New Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,684 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 25,240 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 44,606 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,086,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 4,103 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the third quarter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown now owns 12,898 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% in the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 12,313 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $115.54. 481,271 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,692,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $92.43 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.20 and its 200 day moving average is $109.08. The stock has a market cap of $200.40 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 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 the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 66.87%.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.