MQS Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

MQS Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 56.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,962 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,824 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $115.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.39. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $96.92 and a 52 week high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

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.