Arlington Partners LLC Reduces Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Arlington Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,706 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 3,515 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up about 1.8% of Arlington Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Arlington Partners LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $945,453,000 after buying an additional 6,628,310 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $635,056,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $676,866,000 after buying an additional 5,069,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of 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. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $3.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $133.73. 9,442,414 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,136,879. The company has a market capitalization of $232.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.78. The business's 50 day moving average is $132.69 and its 200-day moving average is $127.30. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.