Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Linscomb Wealth Inc.

Linscomb Wealth Inc. reduced its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 101,458 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,804 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $11,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $115.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,110,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,675,562. The firm has a market cap of $199.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $97.64 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s 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 $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.