Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stake Raised by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 61.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,497,747 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 570,224 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.09% of Abbott Laboratories worth $170,757,000 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. Insight Folios Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% during the third quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 1,478 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed 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. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.6 %

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $115.74 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $115.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $200.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $96.20 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 66.87%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.