Fluent Financial LLC Sells 462 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Fluent Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,986 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 462 shares during the quarter. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $18,788,216,000 after buying an additional 8,834,840 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,976,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,882,780 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 32,236,101 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,548,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,390 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,675,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,103,997,000 after purchasing an additional 508,524 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,922,170 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,092,133,000 after purchasing an additional 228,039 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABT. Citigroup increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $112.64. 4,366,288 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,757,640. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $195.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.