MAI Capital Management Reduces Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

MAI Capital Management lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 401,386 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 9,904 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $45,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the third 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $1.46 on Monday, reaching $117.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,083,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,703,357. The company has a market capitalization of $203.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $98.95 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $115.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.62. 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 (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 66.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ABT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.