Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Position Reduced by Avity Investment Management Inc.

Avity Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 54.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,523 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 21,301 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 894,797 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $98,490,000 after acquiring an additional 8,224 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. CMG Global Holdings LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $216,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $16,764,000. Finally, Secured Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,703,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.15.

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 value of $16,492,852.39. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4 %

ABT traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $116.12. The stock had a trading volume of 3,471,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,728,511. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.35. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $89.67 and a 52 week high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

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.