Acropolis Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,852 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.2 %

ABT stock opened at $118.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $206.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.35. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 66.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.07.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other 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 transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.