Alberta Investment Management Corp Cuts Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.7%, selling 14,886 shares and now holding 124,749 shares worth approximately $16.5 million.
• Abbott's stock has seen mixed analyst ratings, with a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47, following recent target increases from several firms.
• The company reported earnings of $1.26 per share and revenue of $11.14 billion for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates while announcing a quarterly dividend yielding 1.9%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 124,749 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 14,886 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $16,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.9%

ABT stock opened at $126.16 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.26. The company has a market capitalization of $219.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $103.55 and a twelve month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

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.

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