Marco Investment Management LLC Sells 15,418 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• Marco Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 19.8%, selling 15,418 shares and retaining 62,647 shares, valued at approximately $8.31 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Hughes Financial Services LLC and Abound Financial LLC, initiated new positions in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter, highlighting a significant interest with over 75% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• Abbott Laboratories announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.87%, which will be paid on August 15th to stockholders recorded by July 15th.

Marco Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,647 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 15,418 shares during the quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $8,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Wormser Freres Gestion purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT traded up $1.19 on Friday, hitting $127.38. 2,681,612 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,928,343. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $131.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $107.11 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. Abbott Laboratories's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.57%.

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.