MONECO Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 110.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,148 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 16,325 shares during the quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MBA Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.6% during the third quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 195.9% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,484 shares during the period. Brown Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter worth $206,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 132.5% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,252 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 3,563 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% during the third quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 65,623 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,482,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $113.42. 4,543,575 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,711,034. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $114.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.70. The company has a market cap of $197.31 billion, a PE ratio of 35.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $91.64 and a 12 month high of $121.64.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 68.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ABT shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Edward Jones lowered shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James restated a "buy" rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company'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 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.