Versor Investments LP Makes New Investment in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,706 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler Companies started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $131.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ABT stock traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $115.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,810,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,696,197. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $96.92 and a one year high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $115.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.39.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.91%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction 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 $25,617,068.19. This represents a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.