Abbott Laboratories $ABT Stake Lessened by Community Financial Services Group LLC

Key Points

• Community Financial Services Group LLC cut its Abbott Laboratories stake by 96.2% in the third quarter, selling 47,737 shares and retaining 1,860 shares valued at approximately $180,000.
• Abbott reported quarterly revenue of $12.59 billion and earnings of $1.31 per share, exceeding analyst estimates; revenue increased 13% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, while analysts maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $118.88.

Community Financial Services Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 96.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,860 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 47,737 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 61.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,187,488 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $512,679,000 after buying an additional 1,968,916 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 31.8% in the third quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,230 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the third quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 47,166 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,661,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 120.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 2,030 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock opened at $104.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $181.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock's 50-day moving average is $105.97 and its 200 day moving average is $98.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $81.97 and a 1-year high of $132.02.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 17.69%. The company had revenue of $12.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $119.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $118.88.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories NYSE: ABT is a diversified healthcare company that develops, manufactures and sells medical devices, diagnostic products, nutritional products and branded generic pharmaceuticals. Founded in 1888 by Wallace C. Abbott, the company serves healthcare providers, institutions, retailers and consumers worldwide.

Abbott's medical device portfolio includes cardiovascular products, such as coronary stents, structural heart systems and heart failure devices, as well as diabetes-care technologies, including the FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring system.

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