National Pension Service Raises Stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.2%, owning approximately 3.6 million shares valued at $478 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Abbott Laboratories reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.26, exceeding revenue expectations with $11.14 billion for the quarter, indicating a 7.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, reflective of a 1.8% yield and a payout ratio of 29.57%.

National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,604,028 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after acquiring an additional 179,138 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of Abbott Laboratories worth $478,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $5,850,000 after buying an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 152,719 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $17,274,000 after buying an additional 2,774 shares during the period. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,075,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 393.4% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 11,742 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 9,362 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CFO Philip P. Boudreau sold 5,550 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.55, for a total transaction of $746,752.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 51,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,862,453.65. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.47.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 1.8%

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $2.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $131.66. The stock had a trading volume of 6,784,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,899,187. The stock has a market cap of $229.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.70. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $110.33 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.15.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

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

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.