Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,928 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 889 shares during the quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Insight Folios Inc grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,691 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,153 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,108 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 1,478 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $118.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $204.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $115.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.04.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ABT. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

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.