B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes $25.77 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 225,996 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $25,765,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $117.36 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $203.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.55 and a 200 day moving average of $109.62. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $98.95 and a 52 week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.55 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 66.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

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.