48,631 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 48,631 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $4,806,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 41.3% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 404 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $106.33 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $81.97 and a 1 year high of $132.02. The company has a market capitalization of $183.99 billion, a PE ratio of 39.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The healthcare product maker reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42. The company had revenue of $13.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.97% and a net margin of 9.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.32.

More Abbott Laboratories News

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott began the pivotal CROWN-MV trial for its investigational Cephea Mitral Valve System, designed as a minimally invasive treatment for symptomatic mitral valve disease patients who are ineligible for surgery or transcatheter repair. Successful development could expand Abbott’s structural-heart portfolio, although the device remains investigational and carries clinical and regulatory risk. Abbott initiates pivotal trial for Cephea device
• Positive Sentiment: Industry reports forecast strong expansion in point-of-care diagnostics across South and Central America and continued growth in home INR monitoring. Abbott is listed among the key suppliers, suggesting potential long-term opportunities for its diagnostics business through testing volume, instruments and recurring consumables. South and Central America point-of-care diagnostics market Point-of-care INR testing market
• Neutral Sentiment: Discussion of Abbott’s approaching breakup highlights the potential for value creation through separating businesses, but also raises questions about execution, valuation and how costs and growth prospects will be allocated among the resulting companies. Can Abbott Laboratories Stay Reasonable As Its Breakup Nears?
• Negative Sentiment: Dexcom exceeded expectations and raised guidance, underscoring robust demand for continuous glucose-monitoring wearables but also intensifying competitive pressure on Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre franchise. Stronger execution by Dexcom could weigh on expectations for Abbott’s diabetes-care growth. Dexcom shakes off Abbott-tied malaise
• Negative Sentiment: Argus downgraded Abbott Laboratories, adding a near-term valuation and analyst-sentiment headwind. Abbott Laboratories stock gets downgrade from Argus

Abbott Laboratories Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of medical products and services. Founded in 1888 by Wallace C. Abbott, the company is headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, and serves patients, healthcare providers and consumers in markets around the world.

Abbott operates across four principal businesses: medical devices, diagnostics, nutrition and established pharmaceutical products. Its offerings include glucose-monitoring systems such as FreeStyle Libre; cardiovascular devices, including stents and structural heart products; laboratory and point-of-care diagnostic systems; and branded generic medicines in areas such as gastroenterology, women’s health and cardiometabolic care.

The company’s nutrition portfolio includes infant and pediatric products such as Similac and PediaSure, adult nutritional products such as Ensure, and rehydration products such as Pedialyte.