Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 525,080 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 54,986 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $69,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 82,443 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $9,325,000 after acquiring an additional 15,692 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 125,523 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $14,198,000 after purchasing an additional 5,168 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ABT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners began 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.61.

Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.6%

ABT traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $134.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,299,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,143,933. The business's 50-day moving average is $133.03 and its 200-day moving average is $127.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $233.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

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.