Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Stock Holdings Boosted by Hudock Inc.

Hudock Inc. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,409 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the quarter. Hudock Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 32,980 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,748,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.7% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 37,939 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $4,325,000 after acquiring an additional 3,678 shares during the period. Coerente Capital Management increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Coerente Capital Management now owns 221,549 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $25,259,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 7,111 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 2,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the third quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 9,680 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Mizuho raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT traded down $1.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $115.03. The stock had a trading volume of 581,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,698,312. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.62. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $91.64 and a one year high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $200.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given 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 1.91%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.