UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 577,277 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC trimmed its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,233,933 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 577,277 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,052,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $118.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $206.33 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $115.67 and a 200-day moving average of $110.19. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABT. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

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.