Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 10.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,352 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,498 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 0.9% of Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $117.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $115.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.62. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $98.95 and a one year 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. 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. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. 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.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.