Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $719,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth about $7,651,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 5,664 shares in the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $34,313,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $22,091,000 after acquiring an additional 31,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 110.1% in the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 31,148 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 16,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $118.96. The stock had a trading volume of 3,509,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,684,229. The company's 50 day moving average is $115.67 and its 200-day moving average is $110.19. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $206.33 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Edward Jones lowered Abbott Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.07.

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.