Abbott Laboratories $ABT Shares Sold by Burford Brothers Inc.

Burford Brothers Inc. trimmed its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 16.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,276 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 2,159 shares during the quarter. Burford Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.8%

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $128.69 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $110.86 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $132.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.54.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 31.88%.The company had revenue of $11.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.61.

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.