Abbott Laboratories $ABT Stock: Pinkerton Wealth LLC Boosts Stake

Pinkerton Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,548 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,473 shares during the period. Pinkerton Wealth LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $5,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Columbia Bank lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 14.9% during the third quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 16,670 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $189,841,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.0% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 26,070 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $8,487,000. Finally, Investment Partners LTD. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 53.9% during the third quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 10,650 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 3,728 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Abbott Laboratories from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $119.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group dropped 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 report on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.32.

More Abbott Laboratories News

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott began the pivotal CROWN-MV trial for its investigational Cephea Mitral Valve System, designed as a minimally invasive treatment for symptomatic mitral valve disease patients who are ineligible for surgery or transcatheter repair. Successful development could expand Abbott’s structural-heart portfolio, although the device remains investigational and carries clinical and regulatory risk. Abbott initiates pivotal trial for Cephea device
• Positive Sentiment: Industry reports forecast strong expansion in point-of-care diagnostics across South and Central America and continued growth in home INR monitoring. Abbott is listed among the key suppliers, suggesting potential long-term opportunities for its diagnostics business through testing volume, instruments and recurring consumables. South and Central America point-of-care diagnostics market Point-of-care INR testing market
• Neutral Sentiment: Discussion of Abbott’s approaching breakup highlights the potential for value creation through separating businesses, but also raises questions about execution, valuation and how costs and growth prospects will be allocated among the resulting companies. Can Abbott Laboratories Stay Reasonable As Its Breakup Nears?
• Negative Sentiment: Dexcom exceeded expectations and raised guidance, underscoring robust demand for continuous glucose-monitoring wearables but also intensifying competitive pressure on Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre franchise. Stronger execution by Dexcom could weigh on expectations for Abbott’s diabetes-care growth. Dexcom shakes off Abbott-tied malaise
• Negative Sentiment: Argus downgraded Abbott Laboratories, adding a near-term valuation and analyst-sentiment headwind. Abbott Laboratories stock gets downgrade from Argus

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $106.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $81.97 and a one year high of $132.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.99 billion, a PE ratio of 39.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.06.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The healthcare product maker reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.42. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 17.97%. The business had revenue of $13.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 94.03%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of medical products and services. Founded in 1888 by Wallace C. Abbott, the company is headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, and serves patients, healthcare providers and consumers in markets around the world.

Abbott operates across four principal businesses: medical devices, diagnostics, nutrition and established pharmaceutical products. Its offerings include glucose-monitoring systems such as FreeStyle Libre; cardiovascular devices, including stents and structural heart products; laboratory and point-of-care diagnostic systems; and branded generic medicines in areas such as gastroenterology, women’s health and cardiometabolic care.

The company’s nutrition portfolio includes infant and pediatric products such as Similac and PediaSure, adult nutritional products such as Ensure, and rehydration products such as Pedialyte.