Hancock Whitney Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,395 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,585 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 7,556 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,322 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 111,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $12,252,000 after buying an additional 3,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 21,247 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,339,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:ABT opened at $113.70 on Friday. 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 has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $110.50 and a 200 day moving average of $108.53. The firm has a market cap of $197.80 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler Companies assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.