Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 987,573 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 5,025 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 4.6% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. owned about 0.06% of Abbott Laboratories worth $131,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $945,453,000 after purchasing an additional 6,628,310 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $635,056,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $676,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069,771 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of ABT traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $133.70. The stock had a trading volume of 3,114,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,158,307. The company has a market capitalization of $232.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.16. 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 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share 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 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 dividend yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Insider Activity

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

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.