Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Coho Partners Ltd.

Coho Partners Ltd. lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 683,469 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 84,251 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 2.8% of Coho Partners Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Coho Partners Ltd.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $77,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $116.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $203.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.45, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $91.64 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.62.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.67.

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.