GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Trims Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,814 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 834 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $7,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $115.90 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.53 and a 200-day moving average of $109.54. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $97.64 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 company has a market cap of $201.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.