Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Crestline Management LP

Crestline Management LP increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 37.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,595 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 5,071 shares during the quarter. Crestline Management LP's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $945,453,000 after purchasing an additional 6,628,310 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $635,056,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $7,688,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,494,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,650 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.17, for a total transaction of $131,123.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,381 shares in the company, valued at $10,277,222.77. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,278 shares of company stock valued at $12,745,859. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ABT stock traded down $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $133.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,976,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,119,577. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $232.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.74. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $129.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.51.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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.