Ascent Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 13.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,772 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,476 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,206,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 48.0% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,315 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares during the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 267.6% in the second quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 6,793 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 4,945 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 211,699 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $21,998,000 after acquiring an additional 8,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 23,863 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $112.43 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

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.