Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,539,428 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 22,601 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Abbott Laboratories worth $204,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 239 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $138.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.61.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Up 0.1%

ABT stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $136.21. The stock had a trading volume of 5,337,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,151,242. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $99.71 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The firm has a market cap of $236.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50-day moving average price is $132.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

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

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. 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 1.73%. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.61%.

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.