Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Axa S.A.

AXA S.A. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 77.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,383,425 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 605,269 shares during the period. AXA S.A. owned approximately 0.08% of Abbott Laboratories worth $143,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $112.48. 2,459,623 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,811,350. The stock has a market cap of $195.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.02, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $110.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.36.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $10.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $121.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.33.

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.