Intech Investment Management LLC Has $2.70 Million Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,662 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 11,661 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.76 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $115.58 and a 200-day moving average of $109.91. The company has a market capitalization of $204.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $121.64. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 66.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.