Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Has $805.69 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,073,765 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 477,768 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 3.7% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 0.35% of Abbott Laboratories worth $805,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cim LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,919,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,327 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.9% in the first quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ABT traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $126.53. 4,741,228 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,571,204. 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 has a market cap of $220.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $132.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.88. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $99.92 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

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.