Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Saxon Interests Inc.

Saxon Interests Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,029 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 127 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $31,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $115.08. The stock had a trading volume of 547,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,729,585. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.21. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $89.67 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $200.20 billion, a PE ratio of 35.78, 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.15.

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.