Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Acquired by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,155,818 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 60,375 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.07% of Abbott Laboratories worth $167,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $5,850,000 after buying an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in 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 valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 652,656 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $73,822,000 after buying an additional 38,231 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,614,600 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $182,627,000 after buying an additional 164,989 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $125.67. 4,705,902 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,986,979. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.92 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ABT shares. BTIG Research dropped 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. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

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.