Versor Investments LP Acquires New Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,706 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $115.74 on Thursday. 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 twelve month low of $96.20 and a twelve month high of $121.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is 66.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones cut shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 corporate 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.