293,454 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Bought by Covea Finance

Covea Finance bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 293,454 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $38,927,000. Abbott Laboratories comprises approximately 1.8% of Covea Finance's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $273,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,095,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $133,691,000 after acquiring an additional 57,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.4%

ABT stock opened at $132.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $132.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.88. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $231.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73.

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 net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 30.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories 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.

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