Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,280,278 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 13,704 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned about 0.07% of Abbott Laboratories worth $169,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,645,397 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $19,075,481,000 after buying an additional 739,260 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,229,026 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $6,118,903,000 after purchasing an additional 795,073 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,668,834 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $4,023,027,000 after purchasing an additional 765,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,392,302 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $2,985,233,000 after purchasing an additional 581,325 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABT. Raymond James lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.59.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock traded up $1.05 on Thursday, reaching $136.33. The company had a trading volume of 5,082,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,101,217. 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. The company's fifty day moving average is $131.03 and its 200 day moving average is $126.12. The company has a market cap of $237.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 31.95%. On average, research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now directly owns 34,058 shares in the company, valued at $4,415,960.28. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.