754,559 Shares in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Purchased by Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA

Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 754,559 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock, valued at approximately $100,092,000. Abbott Laboratories accounts for 1.2% of Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $635,056,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 5,069,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% during 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 buying an additional 2,229,026 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.41. 3,927,244 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,107,754. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $131.50 and a 200 day moving average of $126.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.95% and a return on equity of 20.74%. On average, analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on ABT shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.59.

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.