DAVENPORT & Co LLC Increases Stock Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 953,355 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned about 0.05% of Abbott Laboratories worth $126,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $19,075,481,000 after acquiring an additional 739,260 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings 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 worth $7,688,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229,026 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings 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 worth $6,118,903,000 after acquiring an additional 795,073 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $4,023,027,000 after acquiring an additional 765,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,985,233,000 after acquiring 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 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 value of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $1.87 on Wednesday, reaching $134.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,533,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,133,189. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $233.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 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. The business's 50 day moving average is $133.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.97.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. As a group, 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 Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

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.