Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,662,369 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 91,007 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.33% of Abbott Laboratories worth $640,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total value of $12,199,967.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. The trade was a 55.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total value of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock worth $12,745,859 over the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on ABT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.45. 5,266,685 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,115,404. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $129.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.75. The company has a market capitalization of $223.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. Analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

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.