West Family Investments Inc. Purchases Shares of 4,772 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 4,772 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $544,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.3 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.01 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $98.95 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.62.

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 firm 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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, November 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.