Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC Sells 500 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 4.8% 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 9,992 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,139,000 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. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $30,000. 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 shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ABT opened at $114.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $91.64 and a one year high of $121.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $114.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.67.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four 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, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.