Atom Investors LP Sells 58,531 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Atom Investors LP cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 57.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,558 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 58,531 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ABT opened at $118.77 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $206.00 billion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.87 and a 200 day moving average of $110.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its 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 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 analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS 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 issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ABT. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.