Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Key Points

• Commerce Bank reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% during the first quarter, owning 414,823 shares valued at approximately $55 million after selling 13,764 shares.
• Abbott Laboratories had a profitable quarter, reporting $1.26 EPS and revenue of $11.14 billion, exceeding analyst estimates and showing a 7.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share with an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Commerce Bank decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 414,823 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 13,764 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $55,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 75.5% in the first quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 4,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 243,548 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $32,307,000 after buying an additional 43,939 shares during the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 38.1% in the 1st quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 42,147 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,591,000 after buying an additional 11,636 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,160 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $4,377,000 after buying an additional 2,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pasadena Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $310,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Leerink Partners began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. 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. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $126.16 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $103.55 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $219.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 29.57%.

About Abbott Laboratories

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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