Cornerstone Capital Inc. Purchases 10,695 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Cornerstone Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 250,853 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,695 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 2.7% of Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Cornerstone Capital Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $28,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BDF Gestion bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,651,000. Dundas Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $34,313,000 after buying an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 110.1% during the 3rd quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 31,148 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 16,325 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth about $5,634,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% in 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 buying an additional 31,720 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABT. Raymond James reiterated 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. Oppenheimer began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Four equities 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.07.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $117.67. The stock had a trading volume of 598,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,703,130. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.03 and its 200 day moving average is $108.95. 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 twelve month low of $92.43 and a twelve month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total value of $16,492,852.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.