Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 23.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 706,894 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 220,223 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $80,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 22.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 228,448 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41,557 shares in the last quarter. 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 Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $114.54. 1,873,530 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,618,952. The company has a market cap of $198.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The stock's 50 day moving average is $116.21 and its 200 day moving average is $111.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the 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 owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories 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.