Courier Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Courier Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,245 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 11,697 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.6% during the first 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 during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake 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 worth $7,976,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882,780 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 5.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,675,827 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,103,997,000 after purchasing an additional 508,524 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 27.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,428,752 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $771,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,352,134 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $721,984,000 after purchasing an additional 452,308 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded up $0.87 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $116.99. 3,655,623 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,732,688. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $91.64 and a 52 week 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.67.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 $25,617,068.19. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company 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.