Philadelphia Trust Co. Sells 11,103 Shares of Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Philadelphia Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 6.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 162,641 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 11,103 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 1.1% of Philadelphia Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Philadelphia Trust Co.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $16,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,603,607,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth approximately $1,082,524,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $902,938,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $732,788,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 152,563,476 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $13,843,610,000 after acquiring an additional 6,769,518 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mary Moreland sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $406,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 100,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,691,756. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ABT opened at $110.58 on Wednesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $81.97 and a 1 year high of $132.02. The company has a market capitalization of $191.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $103.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The healthcare product maker reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 9.75% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The firm had revenue of $13.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is presently 94.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ABT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.32.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets medical devices, diagnostic tests, nutritional products and branded generic medicines. Its products serve patients and healthcare professionals in hospitals, clinics and other care settings. Abbott’s offerings include the FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring system, cardiovascular and other medical devices, laboratory and rapid diagnostic tests, and nutrition brands such as Ensure and Similac. Its established pharmaceuticals business sells branded generic medicines in markets outside the United States.