Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Purchased by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,639,954 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.83% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,916,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Cim LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% in the first quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $131.79. 9,885,780 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,171,329. The company has a market capitalization of $229.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $99.71 and a 52-week high of $141.23.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.38 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories 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.