Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Decreases Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI trimmed its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 212,541 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 10,919 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $28,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $3.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $123.81. The stock had a trading volume of 19,570,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,275,090. Abbott Laboratories has a fifty-two week low of $99.71 and a fifty-two week high of $141.23. 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 price is $133.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.38. The company has a market cap of $215.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The business had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS 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 1.91%. Abbott Laboratories's payout ratio is 30.61%.

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.