Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Means Investment CO. Inc.

Means Investment CO. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,162 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,264 shares during the quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,373,461,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $945,453,000 after purchasing an additional 6,628,310 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $635,056,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $676,866,000 after buying an additional 5,069,771 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the 4th 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 during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $132.88. The company had a trading volume of 11,316,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,120,549. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $132.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $10.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.61.

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.