Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 77.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,383,425 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 605,269 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $143,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 11,165 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Encompass More Asset Management grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the second quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 3,002 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.2% during the first quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 8,290 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co LLC now owns 5,396 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $113.39 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $89.67 and a 1 year high of $121.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.36. The firm has a market cap of $197.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.32, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Edward Jones downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.33.

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.