Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 50,727 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 7,189 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $6,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,688,160,000 after buying an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $6,118,903,000 after buying an additional 795,073 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $4,023,027,000 after buying an additional 765,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,985,233,000 after buying an additional 581,325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.2%

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $131.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $229.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $133.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $143.11.

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.

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