BNP Paribas Decreases Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

BNP Paribas decreased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,881 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 6,784 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas' holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded up $1.00 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,509,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,684,229. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.33 billion, a PE ratio of 35.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.59 and a 200 day moving average of $110.13. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $99.71 and a one year high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business'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 value of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories 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.