Kestra Advisory Services LLC Purchases 39,095 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services increased its Abbott Laboratories stake by 14.9% in the third quarter, adding 39,095 shares and bringing its holdings to 301,813 shares worth about $29.8 million.
• Abbott reported quarterly EPS of $1.42, matching estimates, while revenue of $13.01 billion slightly exceeded expectations and rose 14.5% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a $118.32 average price target.
• Abbott announced a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, equal to $2.52 annually and a 2.3% yield; EVP Mary Moreland separately sold 3,500 shares for $406,000.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 14.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 301,813 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 39,095 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $29,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Claro Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 49.4% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. now owns 5,332 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Genesis Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% during the third quarter. Genesis Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,141 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.8% in the third quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 7,977 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 1,785 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth approximately $193,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 123,625 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $12,218,000 after acquiring an additional 7,105 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mary Moreland sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $11,691,756. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus cut Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $119.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.32.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $110.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $104.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.78. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $81.97 and a fifty-two week high of $132.02.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

About Abbott Laboratories

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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