Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by World Investment Advisors LLC

World Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,734 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 4,186 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $266,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,032 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,042,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 41,771 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,373,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 272,582 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $28,324,000 after acquiring an additional 16,748 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $113.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.06. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $197.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for 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 was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.