Abbott Laboratories $ABT Stock: Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Decreases Stake

Key Points

• Villere ST Denis cut its Abbott Laboratories stake by 13.7% in the third quarter, selling 28,565 shares; it retained 180,259 shares valued at about $17.8 million.
• Other institutional investors made mixed moves, and institutions collectively own 75.18% of Abbott shares. An Abbott executive also sold 3,500 shares.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with a $118.32 average price target. The company reported quarterly revenue growth of 14.5% year over year and announced a $0.63 quarterly dividend.

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 13.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 180,259 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 28,565 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 1.8% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $17,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 14.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 84,377 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $8,339,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431 shares in the last quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $658,000. Aureus Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 25.0% in the first quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 331,920 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $34,078,000 after purchasing an additional 66,422 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 786.0% during the second quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,061 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,276,000 after buying an additional 12,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $4,889,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 100,791 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,691,756. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $119.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.32.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $110.41 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $103.99 and its 200 day moving average is $101.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $81.97 and a 1 year high of $132.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.54.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The healthcare product maker reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.42. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.97% and a net margin of 9.75%. The business had revenue of $13.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.63 dividend. 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 94.03%.

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.

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