Fmr LLC Sells 598,841 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Fmr LLC decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,282,289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 598,841 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 0.54% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,058,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in 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 during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

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 value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $118.96 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.19. The company has a market cap of $206.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories 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.