Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 404.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,129 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,167 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 2.3% of Brendel Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Boltwood Capital Management increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 21,821 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,488,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 1,478 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,045 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the second quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 11,165 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass More Asset Management raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the second quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 3,002 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:ABT traded down $0.16 on Thursday, reaching $115.79. 1,368,381 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,725,985. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $112.93 and its 200-day moving average is $108.26.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced 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 business had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABT. Oppenheimer started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.