Vest Financial LLC Buys 53,887 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 470,358 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 53,887 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $53,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company'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 value of $16,492,852.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $1.50 on Friday, reaching $119.39. The stock had a trading volume of 6,742,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,732,088. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $91.64 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The firm's 50-day moving average is $113.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.48.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.67.

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.