Distillate Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 262,911 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $27,319,000. Abbott Laboratories comprises about 1.4% of Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target for the company. 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. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.33.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE:ABT opened at $114.78 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $89.67 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a market capitalization of $199.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.41.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

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.