IMS Capital Management Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

IMS Capital Management reduced its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,129 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 463 shares during the quarter. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $114.01 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.52, 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.16.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

Insider Activity

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.