Ethic Inc. Acquires 10,876 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its Abbott Laboratories stake by 4.2% in the third quarter, adding 10,876 shares to bring its holding to 267,333 shares, valued at about $26.4 million.
• Abbott’s latest quarter saw revenue rise 14.5% year over year to $13.01 billion, while adjusted earnings of $1.42 per share matched analyst estimates. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, equivalent to a 2.3% yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $118.32. Separately, EVP Mary Moreland sold 3,500 shares at $116 each, and institutional investors own 75.18% of the stock.

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 267,333 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 10,876 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $26,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 152,563,476 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $13,843,610,000 after purchasing an additional 6,769,518 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $7,343,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350,766 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $1,603,607,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 18.6% in 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 during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at about $1,082,524,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Mary Moreland sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $11,691,756. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ABT. Citigroup dropped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price objective 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 given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.32.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 3.2%

ABT opened at $110.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.38 billion, a PE ratio of 41.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $104.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $81.97 and a 12-month high of $132.02.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The healthcare product maker reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42. The firm had revenue of $13.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 94.03%.

Abbott Laboratories 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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