Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 241,362 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 234,769 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 241,362 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $26,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 165,301,921 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $18,788,216,000 after buying an additional 8,834,840 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,177,564 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $7,976,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $341,777,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at $264,876,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 493.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,401,190 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $249,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James restated a "buy" rating and issued a $129.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Edward Jones downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "outperform" 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE ABT traded down $0.69 on Thursday, reaching $115.05. The stock had a trading volume of 3,810,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,696,197. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $96.92 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $115.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.39. The company has a market capitalization of $199.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The firm's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 66.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

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 transaction 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 $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.