CenterBook Partners LP Acquires Shares of 10,467 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,467 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,388,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 6,628,310 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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 worth $676,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069,771 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,120,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $7,688,160,000 after acquiring 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

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $3.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $123.81. The stock had a trading volume of 19,570,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,247,882. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.45. 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 company has a market cap of $215.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.92 and a fifty-two week 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 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABT. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

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.