Abbott Laboratories $ABT Stock Position Increased by Danske Bank A S

Danske Bank A S raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 32.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,210,066 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 298,974 shares during the quarter. Danske Bank A S owned 0.07% of Abbott Laboratories worth $119,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 152,563,476 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $13,843,610,000 after purchasing an additional 6,769,518 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 80,926,234 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,343,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350,766 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,603,607,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 18.6% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 16,706,669 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,515,963,000 after buying an additional 2,614,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $1,082,524,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:ABT traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $108.59. 6,199,121 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,559,261. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $103.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $81.97 and a fifty-two week high of $132.02. The firm has a market cap of $188.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.52, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.54.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The healthcare product maker reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42. The company had revenue of $13.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 9.75%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Wolfe Research raised Abbott Laboratories from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $118.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Mary Moreland sold 3,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $406,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 100,791 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,691,756. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets medical devices, diagnostic tests, nutritional products and branded generic medicines. Its products serve patients and healthcare professionals in hospitals, clinics and other care settings. Abbott's offerings include the FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring system, cardiovascular and other medical devices, laboratory and rapid diagnostic tests, and nutrition brands such as Ensure and Similac. Its established pharmaceuticals business sells branded generic medicines in markets outside the United States.

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