Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by First City Capital Management Inc.

First City Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,243 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 923 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $7,651,000. Dundas Partners LLP grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $34,313,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $22,091,000 after purchasing an additional 31,720 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 110.1% in the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 31,148 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 16,325 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories 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 transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following 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 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $117.36 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $98.95 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $203.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $115.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ABT shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories 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.