AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,494,128 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 166,342 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.09% of Abbott Laboratories worth $169,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% during the fourth 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 period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Eric Shroff sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $77,651.54. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,970 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,294.90. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,277,222.77. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,678 shares of company stock worth $12,408,743 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $130.96. 6,764,691 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,092,744. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $227.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.80. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

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

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.59.

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.