Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Miramar Capital LLC

Miramar Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 29.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 78,753 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 33,458 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up approximately 2.1% of Miramar Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Miramar Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Capital International Investors grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,976,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,675,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,103,997,000 after purchasing an additional 508,524 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,428,752 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $771,940,000 after buying an additional 1,596,835 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,683,586 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $761,996,000 after buying an additional 524,683 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,654,712 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $483,673,000 after acquiring an additional 563,506 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

ABT stock opened at $115.90 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $97.64 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $201.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.49.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.