Flossbach Von Storch SE Has $922.12 Million Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Flossbach Von Storch SE decreased its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,951,496 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 1,720,929 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 4.0% of Flossbach Von Storch SE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned 0.40% of Abbott Laboratories worth $922,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several research reports. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.11.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $133.64. 4,852,335 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,155,060. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $133.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.86. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $232.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

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.