Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Purchases 7,901 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,848 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 7,901 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $14,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during 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 buying an additional 2,229,026 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,118,903,000 after buying an additional 795,073 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,023,027,000 after purchasing an additional 765,636 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,985,233,000 after purchasing an additional 581,325 shares during 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 valued at $2,494,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,650 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $125.67. The company had a trading volume of 4,707,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,808,438. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $99.92 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $132.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.73. 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 (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Abbott Laboratories's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on ABT shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. BTIG Research cut their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.