Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,371 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ABT. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Edward Jones cut Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE ABT opened at $115.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $115.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.52. The company has a market capitalization of $201.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $97.64 and a 52 week high of $121.64. 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 (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.