Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 4,705 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 20.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,814 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 4,705 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $98.95 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $115.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This 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 the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABT shares. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Raymond James reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Edward Jones cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.