Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Holdings Raised by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 38.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,439 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,608 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.2% of VELA Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,788,216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834,840 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,976,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,882,780 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,675,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $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% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,596,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,352,134 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $721,984,000 after purchasing an additional 452,308 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $5.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $118.60. 10,149,305 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,727,483. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.84. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $92.43 and a twelve month 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 has a market cap of $206.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.05, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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 target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.