MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 11,596 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 452,248 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 11,596 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $51,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BDF Gestion bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,651,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 67.3% during the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,083 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,664 shares during the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 330,227 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $34,313,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 19.6% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193,764 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $22,091,000 after purchasing an additional 31,720 shares during the period. Finally, 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 worth $3,551,000 after buying an additional 16,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.76 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $118.72. 179,487 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,669,494. The stock has a market cap of $205.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $115.59 and its 200-day moving average is $110.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.55 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. The trade was a 39.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler Companies initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.07.

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.