Hilltop Holdings Inc. Acquires 73,199 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 572.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,981 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 73,199 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 0.6% of Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.3% in the third quarter. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,259 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 111.5% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 862,270 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $98,307,000 after acquiring an additional 454,635 shares during the period. Coastwise Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 17.5% during the third quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 41,123 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,688,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, Concentric Capital Strategies LP increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 160.6% during the third quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP now owns 7,926 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 4,884 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $118.94 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $206.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $115.87 and a 200 day moving average of $110.43. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

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.