MML Investors Services LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 511,086 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 32,427 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $58,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Four 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $115.60. 5,300,680 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,720,173. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $116.15 and its 200-day moving average is $110.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 66.87%.

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.