Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lessened its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 44.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 582,713 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 465,770 shares during the quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $65,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $19,075,481,000 after buying an additional 739,260 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,118,903,000 after acquiring an additional 795,073 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after acquiring an additional 765,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after purchasing an additional 581,325 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have commented on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James lifted 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, Argus raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.59.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Abbott Laboratories
Insider Activity
In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 91,167 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.82, for a total transaction of $12,199,967.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,625,404.96. This trade represents a 55.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.
Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.5 %
Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $133.25. 6,285,853 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,135,683. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $130.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.08. 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 twelve month low of $99.71 and a twelve month high of $141.23.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.
Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.
About Abbott Laboratories
(
Free Report)
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.
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