Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Has $1.41 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,404 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Malaga Cove Capital LLC raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 103.1% in the 3rd quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 5,112 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the third quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 56,924 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $6,224,000 after buying an additional 4,737 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 42,737 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $4,872,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $251,000. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.3% during the third quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 4,674 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.8 %

ABT opened at $116.77 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $115.20 and its 200-day moving average is $109.08. The company has a market cap of $202.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $92.43 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.