Fisher Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

by · The Markets Daily

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Free Report) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,102,204 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 585,915 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.64% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,265,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABT. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on ABT

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $117.76 on Monday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.94. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $204.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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