Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Sells 1,716 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,454 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 1,716 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,981,000 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 ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $18,788,216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834,840 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% during the 1st 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. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $341,777,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth about $264,876,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 493.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,401,190 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $249,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996,320 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.77.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $113.35 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $112.37 and a 200-day moving average of $108.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $197.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 68.54%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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.