National Bank of Canada FI Sells 501,037 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 52.1%, selling 501,037 shares and leaving them with 459,916 shares valued at approximately $61 million.
• Other institutional investors, such as T. Rowe Price and GAMMA Investing, significantly increased their positions, with T. Rowe Price boosting their stake by 383.1%.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.26, meeting analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.4%.

National Bank of Canada FI cut its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 52.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 459,916 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 501,037 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $61,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,428,000. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at $273,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE ABT traded down $2.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $131.38. The stock had a trading volume of 7,125,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,884,953. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $107.11 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The stock has a market cap of $228.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.