Groupama Asset Managment Acquires 41,557 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 22.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 41,557 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $26,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $115.51 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.73. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $116.17 and a 200-day moving average of $110.93.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current 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 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price 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, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus 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.