UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 577,277 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,233,933 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 577,277 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.53% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,052,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.8 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $118.95. The company had a trading volume of 3,510,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,684,229. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.16, a price-to-earnings-growth 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's fifty day moving average is $115.67 and its 200-day moving average is $110.19. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. 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 report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.07.

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.