Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Trims Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,220 shares during the quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $114.22 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $91.64 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.70 billion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $114.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories 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 value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.