Kingfisher Capital LLC Sells 3,055 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Kingfisher Capital LLC cut its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,004 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,055 shares during the quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.1% in the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 70,919 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,085,000 after purchasing an additional 12,842 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 80,659 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $9,068,000 after buying an additional 4,117 shares in the last quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $241,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 710,240 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $80,974,000 after acquiring an additional 8,227 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ABT stock opened at $118.95 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $115.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.25. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64. 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 firm has a market cap of $206.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released 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 return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

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 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 directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus 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.