JGP Wealth Management LLC Acquires 2,287 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 91,039 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $10,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $31,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.15.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded up $1.04 on Friday, reaching $116.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,111,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,716,540. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $113.04 and a 200-day moving average of $108.31. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $202.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.