Abbott Laboratories $ABT Stock: Candriam S.C.A. Boosts Stake

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 445.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,151,288 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 940,121 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.07% of Abbott Laboratories worth $114,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 152,563,476 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $13,843,610,000 after purchasing an additional 6,769,518 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 80,926,234 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $7,343,246,000 after buying an additional 1,350,766 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,603,607,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 18.6% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 16,706,669 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $1,515,963,000 after acquiring an additional 2,614,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,082,524,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of ABT opened at $110.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $81.97 and a 12 month high of $132.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $104.04 and its 200-day moving average is $101.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.38 billion, a PE ratio of 41.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.54.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The healthcare product maker reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 9.75%. The business had revenue of $13.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.03%.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, EVP Mary Moreland sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $406,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 100,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,691,756. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.32.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets medical devices, diagnostic tests, nutritional products and branded generic medicines. Its products serve patients and healthcare professionals in hospitals, clinics and other care settings.

Abbott’s offerings include the FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring system, cardiovascular and other medical devices, laboratory and rapid diagnostic tests, and nutrition brands such as Ensure and Similac.