Sunpointe LLC Boosts Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Sunpointe LLC increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,350 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 295 shares during the quarter. Sunpointe LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,788,216,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834,840 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $7,976,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,882,780 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth approximately $341,777,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $264,876,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 493.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,401,190 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $249,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996,320 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten 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 a consensus price target of $125.54.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of ABT traded up $2.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 988,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,698,629. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $91.25 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $205.47 billion, a PE ratio of 36.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $113.44 and its 200 day moving average is $108.34.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.