Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 1,845 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,156 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,845 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.7 %

ABT traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $116.15. The company had a trading volume of 825,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,720,644. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $91.64 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $202.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $114.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.52.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its 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 company 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 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.