Erste Asset Management GmbH Takes Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 302,174 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $34,054,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped 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. Finally, Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $118.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $206.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.39.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Company 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.