Belmont Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Belmont Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 50.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,407 shares during the period. Belmont Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 48,075 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $5,481,000 after acquiring an additional 3,591 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.7% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 262,374 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $29,913,000 after purchasing an additional 9,401 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $234,000. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,522 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $117.36 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $98.95 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $203.56 billion, a PE ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $115.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.62. 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 (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction 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 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ABT. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

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.