Sanders Capital LLC Sells 3,097 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sanders Capital LLC decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,195,151 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,097 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $136,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.4% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 8,843 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 69,901 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,969,000 after buying an additional 1,665 shares during the last quarter. Prospector Partners LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 20.5% in the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 215,975 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $24,623,000 after acquiring an additional 36,780 shares during the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% during the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 12,928 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at about $262,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $118.16 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $121.64. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $115.59 and its 200 day moving average is $110.04. The company has a market cap of $204.94 billion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.87%.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

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.