Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Grows Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2%, acquiring an additional 3,616,471 shares, and now holds 0.92% of the company valued at over $2.12 billion.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a revenue of $11.14 billion and an EPS of $1.26 for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59, translating to an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 29.57%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,616,471 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.92% of Abbott Laboratories worth $2,120,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABT. Capital International Investors increased 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 valued at $7,688,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229,026 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,097,005 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $6,118,903,000 after purchasing an additional 795,073 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $2,494,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,650 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,916,966,000 after buying an additional 1,639,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,865,656 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,451,032,000 after buying an additional 781,264 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT traded up $2.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $134.41. The company had a trading volume of 4,985,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,868,751. The business has a 50-day moving average of $131.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $107.11 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $233.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.70.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

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.