Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,346 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 12,427 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $117.76 on Monday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $204.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.94.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Edward Jones cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.