Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,853 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $900,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $115.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $201.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $113.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.31. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year 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.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.15.

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.