Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Buys 12,842 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 22.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,919 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 12,842 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Insight Folios Inc increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% in the third quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 1,478 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $118.95 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $206.31 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $115.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. 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 business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 66.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company 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.